FMA: Fleeting Flames
by fmayang
Summary: When given an assignment to investigate a troubled town, Roy Mustang finds himself thrown into a rouse of a magnitude that was previously unprecedented. When the Elric brothers are brought in to help find him, they discover a large feathered chimera in his place! Will they be able to help Roy return to normal, or will he be left nothing more than a monster? Parental!RoyEd, rated T
1. Chapter 1

Ch. 1

Why did this have to happen?

Why here of all places?

How could it happen?

Who could have caused this?

How can it be fixed?

Who can fix it?

Will we be able to keep the public's gaze and attention off of this?

Will we have to exterminate them all?

Roy Mustang leaned forward and lowered his forehead onto his folded hands. All of these questions were ones that a briefing from HQ told him needed to be answered. Any and all of them. Within a week. He sighed loudly and threw his head back against the frame of the train seat. He should be back at his apartment. Sleeping. Then in a few hours be heading back to his office to fill out mountains of paperwork and get threatened by his gorgeous subordinate and her gun.

Orders were orders, however, and Roy looked around the train car at his fellow soldiers. There five of them—himself, then there was 2nd Lieutenant Matthews, Master Sargent Locke, Major Jefeers, and Corporal Thompson. As his gaze met each one of them, he inwardly cursed at the men he now commanded. Locke and Thompson may have had lower ranks than the others, but they were definitely stronger and more stubborn. Locke especially was stronger and more brutish, nearly kneeing Roy in the stomach when he had suggested they all try and introduce themselves, followed by a monotone "Why should we have to introduce ourselves? We all know that you couldn't give a damn about your men. Isn't that right, Mister Roy _Mare_?"

Roy shut his eyelids and let his bangs fall over his face. His neck still hurt from where the man had grabbed him and held him above the ground. If not for the other men taking Roy's side, he wouldn't be on this train. He'd be on one heading to Central for emergency care. Aside from Locke, Roy didn't dislike the others, but he so wished they were men he had chosen himself. At least then he could trust his life with them and know they would protect it, and him theirs. But these men… Ugh, the only one he actually knew was Matthews, and that's only because he shared the same lunch table with him. Why his superiors picked these men was anyone's guess.

_Especially Locke._

_ Why did they pick Locke?_

_**Why on EARTH did they pick Locke!?**_

Colonel Mustang slumped in his seat, shifting his posture to avoid the embarrassing numbness that came with sitting on hard metal frames. He scooted over closer to the window and watched as the dark black forms outside blurred past. He looked up at the sky and rested his chin in his hand. So many stars… Far more than there were visible in East City, he knew that much. A perfectly clear night. Not a cloud in the sky, and the crescent moon waning above them.

He thought it a shame that such a beautiful night had to be shared by the inhabitants of the town they were now heading to. Mustang reached back to the files that sat across from him and he reread the mission to himself.

_ "Roughly two weeks ago, in the small southern city of Limixi, a distress call came from a retired soldier. The man [who shall remain anonymous] told reports of people disappearing from their homes only to have them either taken over by grotesque monstrosities or left abandoned. Our records show the first two reports were ignored by officials in the area and he was presumed ill-minded. The third report however, caught their attention, as screaming could be heard in the background and the anon. man was crying begging for help to come. _

_ "When officials arrived in Limixi, they were indeed met with unnatural creatures roaming the streets and homes. They either hid in the shadows or tried to approach them. The officers headed to the man's home and found another creature harboring itself in his home. It uttered a sound familiar to a human's voice, but it could not form words. After minutes of investigating the city, the men discovered that the creatures were in fact results of an illegal practice of alchemy [for def. of alchemy and its uses, see pg. 24] and that they had once been human in all respects. _

_ "However, whether or not these creatures [alchemic definition-chimera] were human, some were more so than others. One officer was slain by a serpent-like chimera and many others acted like wild animals._

_ "Missions A-C failed to uncover the methods and/or person(s) used to change the city, and the military has received no contact whatsoever from said missions or their members. Mission D is to follow the same objective and answer the following questions/tasks within the week's end:" _

_**Blah, blah, blah, I know…**_ Roy shut the file and ruffled his hair. He took out his pocket watch and looked at its face. 5:58. Another 20 minutes until they reached the Senma train station and then get on the truck waiting for them to have ANOTHER hour of driving until they reached Limixi.

He rolled his eyes and looked back out the window. The sky was slightly lighter now, meaning that it wouldn't be too long until it was day time, and that he and his team would be investigating the town... Without any sleep to be had.

Oh yeah.

This was definitely going to be fun for him.

There was a reason Roy lived in the city. He hated nature. Not nature itself, but he did hate nature when you just wanted a nice smooth road to ride a truck in. But no, God hated him, so he gave them a tiny beat up truck that barely seated them all, sent them on an hour long drive in the spring sun, in a deep forest area, with no roads to ease their way through, made them pass through a tiny stream that sent swarms of bugs and mud into the vehicle, and to top it all off, Roy had to sit squished against Locke. Yup. God really did hate him.

Roy started to shift in his seat and suddenly found himself in the air as the truck passed over a tree root and down into a small ditch. He scowled as his men all failed to suppress their laughter upon seeing their commander face down, rump in the air, on the floor of the vehicle. He started to pick himself up when he felt a strong force meet said backside and he was thrust against the wall of the truck. The laughter grew especially loud, and Roy took notice to the main men laughing were Locke and Thompson.

_Of course they are._

Roy again started to get up, but another bump on the trail threw him up then down hard to the floor. He held back a choked whimper. _God must be toying with me…_ He gave up trying to return to his seat and he turned his back to the wall and sat cross-legged on the floor. If looks could kill, Locke and Thompson would definitely be dead, reanimated, then shot repeatedly in the cranium. Everyone else would probably just be dead. Maybe Matthews would live, as Roy noted he was looking sympathetically at him with a sad smile. It was as if they were speaking without words.

_"Sorry, but they were too quick."_

_ "You could've at least helped me up…"_

_ "And risk getting beat up by Locke too? Sorry, but I pass."_

_ "Bastard."_

_ "I said I was sorry!"_

They broke their silent conversation and Roy shut his eyes as he laid his head against the jumpy frame of the truck. He was definitely going to court martial Locke when they returned to East City. At the moment however there were more pressing matters. He sighed and looked at his watch and saw it was actually past the time when their estimated arrival to the town would be. He looked up to his men and they all (including Locke) grew silent as his expression showed the confused and wary nature that he was now in. They all turned to the front of the vehicle and Thompson rapped against the window.

"Hey!" he yelled in his deep smoker's voice, "What's takin' us so long?"

But there was no response. He hit the window harder. "HEY! ANSWER ME, DAMNIT!" Again, there was no answer. Roy stumbled to the window and peered through it to look at the driver. "What the hell…?" he muttered.

"What? What is it, sir?" Jefeers inquired, a slight tremble met his fingers as he adjusted his uniform. Roy shut his eyes shut for a few breathes then looked through the glass again, hands cupped around his face. "But that's… How in the…?" Locke grabbed Roy by his sleeve and yanked him down to be eye level. "Stop your muttering and spill! What's wrong up there?" Roy reached down for his ignition gloves.

"We don't have the same driver we left with… Someone else is driving us to the town." All but Matthews and Roy breathed a sigh of relief. "Ya had us goin' there, Mr. Colonel! For a minute there it seemed somethin' was wrong!" Roy glared at Thompson. "Are you really that daft, Corporal?" "Hey, what'd you say?" the man growled, raising his chest slightly. Roy pointed his hand to the window, poised to snap. "Piece it together. We left with M.P. Rogers, correct? And only him?"

Everyone suddenly grew silent.

They all reached for their respective weapons, be them knives, guns, Roy's gloves, or Locke's fists. Roy took a slow breath and began to snap his fingers. A loud screeching startled everyone and threw them against the front frame of the truck. Roy especially felt the force of the sudden stop and couldn't help a rather shrill shriek escaping his mouth as he had his head slammed into the glass, leaving a crack in it. He fell back to the floor, and as a small trickle of blood oozed from his temple he felt himself being lifted only slightly and heard faint, far off, distorted voices.

Everything was blurred out of focus and dimming with every heartbeat. He made sure to take note of the last few things he saw and heard. And right before he passed out, he felt his insides freeze from horror as the sight before him faded away.

* * *

_Matthews standing above him with a knife being pulled across Jefeers' neck, his scream garbled by the blood that now rained upon Roy's limp body. _

_Locke and Thompson were somewhere outside, the sounds of punches and moans easily heard, though not from the soldiers. _

_And Roy's own pitiful whimper that tried to reach out for help as he faded away._

Roy gasped and his eyes shot open. He had to quickly shut them as he nearly screamed form the pain of the blinding sunlight that poured into them. He tried to shield his eyes with his hands, but he felt only a harsh strain as he tried. He squinted away from the light and looked down at himself. He was covered in dirt, probably dragged around the woods to where ever here was.

He tried to move his hands again, but they were once more stuck behind him, though now he noticed the distinct chings and clanks that came with moving handcuffs. He sighed heavily. And leaned his head back to the hard stone floor he was laying on.

Of course he was in handcuffs. He paused. He ran his thumb over his palm and fingers.

Of course he was handcuffed.

And OF COURSE they took his gloves from him.

"Dammit… Well, there goes my brilliant escape plan," he mumbled to himself. He tried to ease his way up into a sitting position and suddenly felt his body go limp and his head spun. He froze and tried to control his breathing. "Damn relapses…" he cursed as his head argued with his wish to move. The man slowly shuffled his body around the floor as he tried to sit up. Once he was sitting upright he stopped moving for a moment, sweat gathered on his head and upper lip.

After recovering from his painful attempts of movement, Roy slowly scanned the room he was being held captive in. He noticed that the sun that was blaring in the room was actually coming from a window in the rounded ceiling. Off of many of the pillars there were lavishing satin curtains and gorgeous paintings of landscapes. He also took notice of the many statues that guarded the walls, watching him, like guard dogs. He looked down at a more level area and saw Locke and Thompson.

They too were handcuffed.

Roy growled softly. This wasn't good. He may have hated these two, but there was no denying they were some of the strongest men he had commanded aside from Fullmetal and Armstrong…

Fullmetal… He both felt sorrow and annoyance when he thought of his little subordinate. He was sure he was doing fine, he always took care of himself and his brother well, but the parental side of Roy always kicked in whenever something dangerous was going on. Though, now, the danger was happening to him, not Edward. And if something were to happen to Roy that resulted in his death, he knew it would hurt everyone, but especially Edward. The two had a strange sort of friendship; one that border-lined best friendship, and official business.

Of course, them being friends meant if Roy DID make it out of this alive, the shrimp would never let him hear the end of it. He hung his head. He had to get out of here, though. He looked back up to his sleeping soldiers. There was some blood splattered on Thompson's uniform, though it didn't appear to be his. Roy looked over at Locke and he actually felt himself wince.

He did NOT look good.

"Doesn't feel so good, does it, Sargent?" Roy muttered to himself, both feeling guilty for saying it but also feeling glee for the fact the fact karma had officially been returned to the brute. Still, Roy's version of karma was a lot less physical than this had been. Suddenly the man shifted as he struggled to awaken. Roy held his breath as the man seemed to effortlessly rouse himself into a similar seated position.

_Show off…_

Locke shook his head, sending some beads of sweat off onto the floor, making it look as though it had rained. _Ew… Just… Ew._ "Hey. You all right, Sargent Locke?" Roy asked, his voice firm, but noticeably shaken and crackly. He scowled at his own voice. _Crap. I sound like a crying kid!_ He waited for a response from Locke but none came.

"Hey! Sargent!" Roy asked, his throat straining at the louder volume. Still no answer came. Roy felt his insides coil at the silence. "…Locke? You okay, bud?" Locke looked up at Roy and stared.

Mustang sat silent as well. The two stared at each other; both covered in sweat, both handcuffed, both fighting to stay awake and upright. They both knitted their brows, but Roy did so out of analyzing whereas Locke was out of sorrow.

They realized they were both chained to the ground by steel collars that hung off of their necks.

"Tch! Stupid… Stupid… I'm so stupid! How could I not have realized!? GOD, I'm an IDIOT!" Roy doubled over and gritted his teeth out of anger and fear. Locke finally spoke, but his voice was shaky and soft, not the booming voice Roy knew him to have. "What… What's wrong, sir? What's going on?"

Roy looked up at the man through his bangs, his eyes sad. He began trying to free himself of his restraints, but to no avail. "Sir?" Locke pressed him further. Mustang sighed and let his head hang down, covering his face with his hair.

"I'm sorry, Sargent… I'm afraid there's nothing I can do…"

"Well, yes, sir, I understand that, but what's wrong?"

Had it not been such a horrible time, Roy would've had a double-take at how kind Locke was talking to him. He looked over to Thompson and noted how he wasn't gaining consciousness, and even more concerning was the fact he hardly breathed at all. Roy sat up and took a deep breath.

"Sargent Locke, you are aware of our mission's purpose, correct?"

"Well, yes, Colonel Mustang, sir, but what about it? I figure our situation at hand is a tad bit more dire."

Man, Roy really wanted to voice the difference in demeanor that had overtaken Locke. Though, Locke was right, they're current situation was dire. It was so terrifying that Roy had trouble finding the words to tell Locke just how bad off they actually were. "Sir?"

"Well… what about the chimeras reported stood out to you?"

"You mean besides the fact that they're chimeras? Nothing much."

"Nothing at all? How they acted? How they functioned?"

"Well, no, nothing besides that the report filed them as human…like… No. No!

That's impossible! A human can't be turned in to a chimera, right sir!? Please, tell me this isn't what's happening! Please!" Locke pleaded, straining against the tight chain that held him back, nearly causing him to choke from the pressure.

"Unfortunately, I've seen firsthand a human that was transmuted into being a chimera… I was hoping that these reports were just folly by some offhand superior trying to wear us out but…" Roy trailed off, his body slumping. He held back the shaking that was trying to take over his body. Even if he were to die here, or worse, lose his humanity, he would at least do so with pride and honor.

The two men flinched when a loud bang was heard behind them. Roy looked behind Locke (who was now turning around) to see what the sound was. Roy's blood ran cold as a man walked in accompanied by Matthews.

Matthews.

_The TRAITOR. _

"Well, looks like the queen has come to give us a visit, huh? I should've practiced my bow. Then again…" Roy brought himself up to look less scared than he was. "I suppose bowing wouldn't do me much good being _chained to the ground_, eh? You sick monsters!" Matthews reached to his side and pulled out a small gun. "I would watch that slick tongue of yours, Mustang." Matthews cocked the pistol. He sneered. "It was so much better when you didn't speak, and it made playing with it so much easier!"

"WHAT?!"

Matthews giggled like a child and it eventually erupted into deafening cackling. Roy stared as the color left from his face. He tasted the inside of his mouth and realized it wasn't right.

"You _disgusting, revolting, _little piece of-!" he started before being cut off by a loud gunshot that whizzed past him into the wall behind him. "Uh, uh, uh!" Matthews wagged his finger at him. Mustang tensed his muscles even though he knew he had no chance of charging at this violating traitor. His glares did him nothing, so he directed his fury to the man who had entered the room with Matthews.

He looked like an average Joe. He wore some casual pants, a wrinkled shirt (though looking to have been ironed at an earlier time), normal worn-out men's shoes, a simple necklace that held a sort of locket at the end of it, and auburn hair combed back away from his face. Had Roy not felt so revolted and infuriated, he might have thought this man a possible ally or at least an acquaintance.

But the man wore a blank stare that focused on Roy's face and movements. His eyes were a piercing emerald and Roy felt them burn into his own midnight ones. He blinked to shed away some of the tension his muscles were working up in his eyes. This man's gaze never faltered.

It was only when Matthews said something Roy nearly vomited at that the man's eyes flashed away from Roy and toward the 2nd Lieutenant.

"It's more fun when a person's awake, though, trust me I've had plenty of experience. I will admit I've never experienced a half Xingese before, perhaps your body would react more pleasantly than an Amestrian's! What do you say, _Roy-Boy? Wanna escape those chains~?" _ "Mister Matthews."

The man turned to face the emerald-eyed companion he had with him. He swallowed slightly and he felt his fingers tremble from fear. He closed his eyes as he took a breath to speak.

And it was the last breath he ever took.

Roy could hardly believe what he had just witnessed. Blood was everywhere in the area Matthews had just been talking. Blood dripped from the casual man's left hand, the Lieutenant's brain in his grasp. _How had he done that?! HOW?!_ Roy couldn't stop his shaking now and he barely heard Locke's screams of horror as his own heart rang loudly in his head.

"Kindly shut up, Mr. Matthews." The man looked at his hand and smirked as he dropped the oozing grey mass to the floor and slowly stepped on it. Blood and water surrounded the matter in a grotesque puddle. "Thank you, sir." The man took a handkerchief from his trouser pocket and wiped away the blood. "Now then, as you are well aware, Mister Matthews was tiring my patience, as I imagined he did yours."

Roy had seen horrible murders in his life. He had committed some himself back in the war. But this was different. This wasn't a person could murder. Not the motive, no, a person who murders doesn't even _need_ a motive.

But the way that this man murdered… It was literally not possible!

"I do hope you aren't horribly shaken up by the little quip we just had there. He was quite the loudmouth as it were…" Roy barred his teeth. He didn't know why, but this guy really made his emotions run high. No, that was a lie, Roy did know why he was so emotional right now.

This man had just murdered another man who (though Roy was very glad he wasn't around anymore) seemed to be in the same league as him. He didn't even look like it bothered him in the slightest. That look he was giving Roy… Roy had never seen that look before.

And it scared him.

It scared him.

He was scared.

So scared.

Scared.

The man made an advance toward the military officers he had chains to the ground with his collar and chains. He inwardly grinned when the blonde man moaned out of fear but his grin vanished when he met the ink haired man's eyes. Oh, this man was terrified but he seemed to be trying to think his way out of this lovely home he had them in. Pity. He wasn't letting his human emotions take over. Oh! Those amused him so. Having lost his human morals and emotions long ago, he found it a nice hobby to study them and try and remember how they had been and what was a good trigger.

But, the studying would have to come later. There was much work to be done. He flicked his wrist and the world froze around him. He walked over behind the blonde and hit the back of his neck, but the form did not move, as it would not until he stopped his accelerated state. He looked over to the presumed unconscious man. He raised a brow when he saw that his eyes had actually opened. Perhaps the large man had awoken him? It did not matter. A hit to the back of the neck would immobilize him.

He began to attack the Colonel but something told him not to. His scientist mind still wanted to test some new methods and this man, with his strong will to live, would be a Godsend for his research. He took a small step behind the man and stopped his fast state of being.

Locke _and_ Thompson screamed and fell limp. Roy could only gaze in horror as he noted the man was no longer in front of them. He felt a pressure behind him and he froze.

"How… Are you doing that?"

The green-eyed man smiled softly, thoroughly creeping Roy out. "Would you like to experience it? The ability to move faster than the eyes can see?" Roy felt his teeth ache from the force he was crushing them with. "NO. I WOULD NOT," he snapped through bared teeth. The man simply shrugged and walked back to the door calmly.

"I will be back in one minute's time. I hope that is enough time to think over your life and pray that your new one will be more than your last." And with that, the man vanished.

Roy stared at the empty space that now filled where the man had been. He suddenly felt his stomach lurch and he retched on to the floor. Tears brimmed his eyes as he vomited what little had in him, and his little team looked at him with sorrowful eyes. Locke more than Thompson. Roy gasped for breath as he felt a trickle of unemotional tears fall down his cheeks. Locke seemed to think they were tears of sorrow or fear because he quickly started rambling apologies.

"Oh, Colonel Mustang, I am so sorry for what I've done? Please, I beg for your forgiveness! I was being stationed out on the front lines to die had this mission not come up and I found it would be better if I could get court martialed or discharged than go fight and kill! I am so sorry for what I've done! Please forgive me sir! Please! I'm so—" "Damn it Locke, shush!" Locke paused.

"I'm not mad at you, Sargent, and I'm not holding a grudge at all…" Roy coughed as the acid burned his throat and he noticed the once termed 'brute' was crying tears of joy_. He wasn't a bad guy at all, _thought Roy_, though I do wish he could've at least gotten to say goodbye to his friends and family._

He looked over to Thompson who, to put bluntly, looked very confused but also well aware of the murderous man's statement. He nodded a silent goodbye to Roy and Roy returned it. All three sat up and closed their eyes. Roy took one last look at these men.

At least they weren't his because if they were he would be crying for real.

They braced themselves as they counted down to the last seconds.

But nothing prepared them for the agony that came with a sudden jolt of red searing energy.

Roy knew it was happening, so did Locke, but only now did Roy truly appreciate Edward's sympathy for poor little Nina when she had been in Roy's place all those months ago. He wished he could've been a little kinder to her as his body contorted itself against the stone floor. He wish he could at least say goodbye to her.

To his men.

To his aunt.

To Hawkeye.

To Hughes.

To Alphonse.

To Edward.

He screamed as his bones melted and reformed with the animal ones that were being transported through the portal-like transmutation circles that he had failed to notice all three were sitting on. He felt his eyes burst and reform, his ribs turning to dust then grow from said dust, he felt his skull crack apart and mush back together, and he felt his organs rearrange and twist and mangle themselves to their new locations. It was worse than death as he had guessed. Roy shut his crying eyes, looked up to the sky, and screamed until his new throat bled.

And the last thing he remembered before his mind blanked was the sound of his own scream…

Morphing from his own to one that of a monster.


	2. Chapter 2

Ch. 2

A quiet yawn escaped the young blonde's mouth as he stretched his stiff body. A puff of steam blanketed his train window outside in white warmth. The boy stood and jumped to grab his luggage from the rack above him, just barely reaching it. He popped his neck and nodded to his brother that they were leaving.

The two brothers walked off of the train and headed out to the train station exit. Their train actually had been earlier than scheduled, so they would have to wait a few minutes for their ride to pick them up. Edward sighed.

"I still don't know why the Colonel said we had to go here… What's so great about Fotcett anyway? It's just another border town!" the blonde teen got a few looks for his outburst. "Brother, I'm sure he had good reason! He always does, whether for us or others."

Alphonse shifted his stance, not that it mattered since he couldn't feel anything, let alone pressured standing. He looked to his older brother who was now fumbling around with his silver pocket watch on an old station bench. He sure was antsy.

Open.

Close.

Open.

Close.

Open.

Close.

Edward snapped it shut and leaned back to where his long gold hair fell over the back of the bench and he groaned. He hated waiting. He hated wasting time that he could be using to find the philosophers stone. He hated Mustang's orders. No, scratch that, he just hated Mustang…

But something about the order he was given made alarm bells go off in his brain. It was a telegrammed order, not the usual call he got. Roy knew where they were when Ed received the paper, so why not just call them upright like he usually did? That alone made Edward feel nervous. His boss was usually so easy to predict… However, now Ed had absolutely no idea what he was up to.

His mind snapped back to reality when he heard a car park close by. He and his armored brother looked at the car and Ed stood up as his colleague stepped out. "Lieutenant Hawkeye? Wait, you're our escort?" He asked, both surprised she was there and not at the same time.

The woman nodded, and Ed took notice that she wasn't in uniform and that her civilian clothes very pretty on her, but she looked so awkward in them. She motioned to the car and she got back in the driver's seat and started the car up. The two boys grabbed their luggage and got in the vehicle. Hawkeye began driving away from the station, silent and not looking back at her passengers.

Edward and Alphonse sat in the deafening silence for a few minutes. "Ahem…" Edward coughed, trying to break the ice. The woman didn't falter her gaze from the road. "So, uh, Lieutenant… Why is it that Colonel Bastard decided to order me by telegram? Or will I have to ask him myself because things were 'too _dangerous_'?" Edward asked, air quoting as he impersonated Roy's voice. Of course it sounded nothing like him, but that was the point.

Hawkeye again did not break her concentration.

"So… I'll have to ask him myself?" Ed asked again, slightly more annoyed. Hawkeye glanced back at him and looked back to the road, but her expression was more somber. "I'm waiting until we're on the trail to talk about this." "Why?" both brothers asked, being very confused. Edward added "And _what_ trail? Why are we going on a trail? I thought the mission was to go here and then we'd get a lift to the hotel and there would be more info given there?"

Hawkeye shook her head slowly.

Now Edward was really worried. Not only was Mustang being very out of character, but he also wasn't making any sense. He always made sense! He swallowed a little, his throat becoming dry. The three passed through the tiny town, ignoring all the people that walked by the historic buildings and scenery. Edward actually let out a gasp when they hit a small bump, burying his face in his palms from the embarrassing reaction. He was getting way too worked up.

He slumped back in his seat only slightly when the Lieutenant started to speak. "Before I tell you the details, I suggest you sit up straight." Edward raised an eyebrow. "There is no literal road to trek on so it'll be very jumpy and I don't want for you to accidentally get hurt." Edward blushed slightly and sat up.

Sometimes he swore this woman was his parent the way she talked to him.

"Anyway, I suppose now is as good a time as any to tell you boys what's going on…" she dropped her voice she used when she was working and it was replaced by her normal voice. This definitely got the brothers worried. They almost never heard her speak like this. Edward could clearly remember when he was younger, she would speak somewhat like this to him since he was still a child. But he quickly proved he didn't need the sugared attitude, and she dropped it just like that. He recalled the last time he heard her speak like that was when she was on break and she was talking to her dog which helped guard the Colonel's office. But if she was using this voice now, it meant something was surely wrong and it was more personal than official.

"I'll answer your question first, Edward. There's a very good reason why the Colonel didn't call you and instead used the telegram…" The woman's grip on the wheel adjusted, her hands becoming slippery with a cold sweat. "It's because he didn't. Mustang never gave you orders to come here."

"What!?" both brothers asked, their voices loud and shocked.

The lieutenant nodded and continued.

"I… I hate to tell you this, boys, but I actually sent that out. You see, the Colonel was given a mission to complete within a week of his departure… And the deadline was three days ago. Yet, no reports or word from him or his assigned team ever came in to HQ. Half way through the week, a team of soldiers was sent in to help guard the building they were to be taking shelter in, but on their way there they found the car the Colonel and the others had taken to get there.

"They reported that there was blood on the inside of the car, splashed everywhere, presumably from an attack. However, the blood was old and some parts were washed away from the rain that had fallen the day before. As soon as they reached the town, they called in their find and another team was immediately sent in to act as a search party…"

She paused. She looked in the rear view mirror at the teenager in her car and she felt her heart tighten. His face was twisted in a look she never saw on him. Fear. Not for him, but for what she was telling him. She took a slow breath and started again.

"They found nothing. Nothing aside from the populace of the town—which I'll get to in a moment—and muddy puddles." Edward knitted his brows together. "What about asking the citizens what they saw happen? Wouldn't that be easy compared to a search party?" Hawkeye shook her head. "No, and they couldn't no matter how much they wanted to." "What do you mean? Was the town rebellious or something?" Again, Hawkeye shook her head.

"The townspeople have been turned into chimeras; none of them can speak."

Alphonse and Edward sat in silence. Not moving, not blinking, not even breathing. Edward's lips quivered. "W… What…? But that's…" "Impossible? Hardly. It was confirmed before by the officials in the area and every report since has proven them correct." The lieutenant sighed and looked back to the sorry excuse for a trail they were travelling on.

"Back to what I was saying before… They found nothing. Aside from the car, which was on the trail every other mission had taken and where they all disappeared. It was when the backup took this trail that they were still able to report. Unfortunately, it's obvious that Mustang didn't take this road…"

Edward hung his head. No wonder he was so nervous the whole trip. When he got that order. He just had a feeling something was wrong about it, but he had dismissed it. Now, he couldn't stop thinking horrible thoughts. Images of a distorted face, blood dripping from its pores, took over his mind. He couldn't help feeling sweat collect on his forehead.

It was their transmuted mother—more accurately the failed transmutation of their mother.

But now it's face was melting away, a raspy moan escaping its mouth.

And now it was Roy's face that was staring him down.

"EDWARD!" Hawkeye shouted. The boy jumped and hid head shot up, not yet removing the horrified look from his face. The woman's expression immediately softened. "Are you okay, Ed? You look… Well…" The boy blinked away whatever was eating at him and he wiped his forehead with his arm. Hawkeye took notice that it squeaked as he moved it. "Yeah, I'm fine."

He was trembling.

She looked back at the road and continued talking. "Did you catch anything that I just said?" Edward looked out the window and shook his head. "No, sorry, I kinda zoned out… Could you say it again?" The lieutenant repeated herself.

"The reason we need you boys to help with this is because—I know you're going to get mad at this Ed—but you and the Colonel think almost exactly the same way. If he were to be taken anywhere, it would have to be somewhere where he couldn't easily escape or find out where he was. We need you to try and find where he would be. And you will be leading a squadron including me to go look for him. I know it's a heavy order, but we really need to find him. Even if he turns out to be… Well…"

Edward looked down at his hands. They trembled from nervousness and fear. It suddenly occurred to him that in those gloves they looked like Mustang's whenever he thought no one saw him being emotional. Edward had only happened upon him by chance when he was, but he realized the man did the same thing Ed did when he was scared or remembering a painful memory. Edward clenched his hands into fists. Now someone had taken away a man who was almost his parallel.

They were going to pay.

"When do we get there?" He asked suddenly, his voice clear and deeper than normal. Hawkeye had to look back to make sure it was him who had spoken. She had seen Edward focused and determined before, but never to the point where he actually sounded somewhat intimidating. She regained her composure quickly thought and responded. "It should be around twenty minutes until we're in our temporary headquarters."

Edward folded his arms and stuck out his lower lip. Alphonse and the lieutenant both stayed silent so that Edward could think. Only the hum of the engine and the thumps and cracks from the trail were audible in the car.

Edward stared intently at the back of the passenger car seat. He unfolded his arms and leaned on the doorframe to his left, but he kept his gaze. His mind was now separate from the world around him. He tried to put himself in Mustang's place. He had never done so before—never had to. But he soon realized from what he knew about the man that Hawkeye was right. He almost smirked.

They really were alike.

* * *

"Attention! Major Elric is here. Be sure to give him your highest respects!" Ed slapped his face with his hand. This was exactly why he never did a military mission where he was the highest in command. "Hey, chief! Ya mind not telling everyone here to worship me?" Edward said loudly to the captain. The man faltered his salute slightly as his mind tried to process what his superior had said.

"Okay, listen up, men!" Edward directed to the soldiers who were currently in salutes for him. _Heh. No wonder Mustang always took advantage of his rank… _"I may be your commander here, but that doesn't mean that I'm not human. Nor any of you. Lose the formalities while I'm in charge, understood?"

If there had been a cricket in the house, it'd be chirping as the men all stared at Ed.

Edward felt his cheeks flush slightly from being stared down on. "I _said,_ _**UNDERSTOOD?!" **_All the men jumped at the shout that was unnaturally loud from the young major. "Sir, yes sir!" they all shouted back. "Good! At ease! … And stay at ease, you hear?" Ed smiled kindly.

He knew nobody liked having to conduct themselves by protocol, so the few times he had to order others around due to a mission he made sure to treat them as equals, and have it returned. Of course, this made occasions when Roy would return and see Edward talking with the soldiers like they weren't in a dangerous situation or around other officials very hard to put up with. It usually resulted in Edward getting a lecture in front of the men he commanded as a sort of punishment for his misconduct.

But Mustang wasn't there.

It both hurt Ed and made him grin thinking that. He could probably get more trust out of these men when he wasn't bossing them around, and Mustang not being there to make him change his style of commanding would make things very easy. He looked back to the men he commanded.

They were all older than him (of course they were, he was only 15) and all were taller than him. Sad to say, he actually liked this, since this made looking away from him when he spoke to them next to impossible. And another thing that Edward was even more regretting to admit, but Roy had actually helped him know how to find ways of using a soldier's avoiding gaze against them. He actually still remembered the old conversation from back when he was only 13.

_"C'mon, Colonel! I don't want to order these guys around!"_

_ "I figured you wouldn't, but there's something else, isn't there?"_

_ Edward stood there silent, his face slowly turning into sad expression. He closed his eyes and turned away from his boss. He nodded slowly and he clenched his fists. He suddenly felt a hand on his shoulder and he looked up at his commander._

_ "Do you want to tell me what exactly is bothering you about it?" Roy asked kindly. Edward blushed slightly. He was not used to talking to his boss like this. "Um… Not really, no." _

_ Roy knelt down and sat on his heels. "Edward… Just tell me. One man to another." __**Great. Now he was pulling that trick.**_

_ "It's stupid… And I sure as hell am not talking about it to you." Edward looked away from his boss, his face even redder. He wasn't really embarrassed by the conversation, but he just didn't like being talked to like he was a kid._

_ "Fullmetal…" Roy pulled Ed's face back to face him with his index finger. "Just tell me what's wrong. Please." Edward hung his head._

_ "It's just… Everyone won't even look at me. And when they do, they don't look at me seriously—all they do is stare me down like I'm some idiot child!" He clenched his teeth. "They keeping looking down on me… Even though I know they all have to anyway, it still hurts…" Roy nodded slowly, looking into Ed's eyes with a feeling of understanding. _

_ "I know how you feel. I'm the shortest of my rank, AND the youngest as well, you know." Edward couldn't hide the look of surprise that was now plastered on his face. Roy grinned. "But you know how I make sure to keep them from doing that?" Ed shook his head. _

_ Roy lifted a finger and winked one eye shut. "You threaten to court martial them!" Edward shook the man's hand off his shoulder. "Like hell I'm doing that! That's cruel!" Roy stood up and laughed. "Not just to court martial them though, Ed, you have to have an excuse. And the one I used to stop them was 'ignoring a commanding officer's orders and their actions.' After all, isn't that what they're doing by not looking at you or taking you seriously?" Ed stared at his boss in amazement. _

_` "And that actually works?!" Roy grinned widely. "Yes, but you need to keep that threat as long as you're in command. As soon as you aren't—drop it. That really gets them nervous." Edward smiled and headed away waving behind him._

_ "Thanks for the tip, Colonel!"_

_ "You owe me one, squirt!"_

_ "HEY! HOW WOULD YOU LIKE IT IF I COURT MARTIALED YOU!?"_

_ "You can't! I'm YOUR superior!" _

_ "DAMN IT, MUSTANG!"_

Who would've thought Edward actually took to heart the Colonel's advice? He smiled sadly, not because of the memory, but because now knowing the Colonel was depending on him made it bittersweet. He sighed and returned his gaze to the men that were now under his command.

"Now, who here can offer a map and some information on the surrounding area?" A hand shot into the air. Ed pointed him out, "Okay! Stay put for a sec.! Who here is good with medical equipment?" Another hand shot up farther away. "Okay! Same goes for you. Finally, I hate asking this, but who is good with guns? We'll need protection should an enemy try and stop us."

Ed searched the room in front of him, but he was met with awkward silence. "What?" One man wiped a bit of sweat from the back of his neck. "Well, Major Elric" "Ed." The soldier blinked. "Uh… Sir?" Edward put his hands on his hips. "Call me Ed, not 'sir' or 'major' or 'mister.' I'm not big on formalities as you'll learn." The soldier faked a small smile. "Yes si—Ed! Ed… Ahem. Well, all of our men who are skilled with artillery and weapons are the guards you see around town. Aside, of course, from the woman behind you…"

Edward raised a brow and looked behind him to see Hawkeye barely raising her hand. "Oh… Right, sorry! I thought you knew you were already accompanying the team, Lieutenant?" She lowered her hand. "Well, Edward, I didn't know if that would still stand since you're in command here." He smiled. "Yeah, it still stands. Okay! Those of you who I picked out, follow me upstairs! The rest of you…"

He trailed off as he ran up the stairs. He popped his head out from behind the wall frame and yelled with a grin. "Keep up the good work!" And he was gone. The soldiers stared at the place their commander was just at, startled by the sudden change in attitude. Hawkeye was half-way up the steps when she looked back to the men Ed had chosen. She coughed a signal for them to follow, and they did so hastily.

They found Edward in one of the guest beds of the hotel they were currently keeping as a headquarters. He was currently sitting cross-legged on top of the bed, his arms crossed over his chest. He looked up when the soldiers and his brother entered the room. Hawkeye stopped Alphonse before he got through the doorway. "Sorry, Al." Edward jumped up to his feet. "What're doing, Hawkeye!? Let him in!"

"Edward, I'm sorry, but even if you're in charge, this is military business. I'm sure you know the conditions." Edward bit his lip. "… I'm sorry, Al." Alphonse shook his helmet. "No, brother, it's fine! I'll just go talk to the soldiers." And he descended down the stairs.

Edward sent a glare toward the lieutenant who ignored it as she closed the door. "Um… Sir?" Edward quickly redirected the glare to the brown-haired soldier. "Ack! Uh, Edward, no, Ed! Ed! Sorry!" The teen sighed away his scowl. "What?" The soldier continued.

"That was your brother?... I mean nothing of it, of course! It's just… ya know…" he trailed off, almost shaking. Edward smiled kindly, trying to calm the man down. "Yeah! That's my younger brother, Al." Now both the soldiers were blinking in confusion. "And if you ask 'your_ younger_ brother?' then I will personally kick your ass till you apologize!" Both men gulped and straightened immediately.

Hawkeye could only raise a hand to her temple and try not to object to Edward's words.

"Now. Gimme your names so I don't have to call you by your ranks because doing so is just stupid to me." Edward extended his right hand out for one of the men to take. They stared at it, as if confused by the action. The cinnamon haired soldier took his hand and gave one shake. "2nd Lieutenant Christain Mache. They call me Chris." Edward smiled and looked at the brown haired man. "And you?" The man blushed slightly. "I'm… I'm Master Sargent Martin Northrop. They call me Marty." Edward smiled again, though awkwardly lowering his hand when the man hadn't taken it.

"Well, Chris, Marty, good to have you on the team! Now, do either one of you have a map of the town?" Chris nodded and unfolded a map from his breast pocket. "Here's a map of the entire town, S—Edward…" A loud clunk rang as Edward smacked his forehead with his automail. "OH FOR THE LOVE OF—Look, if you feel the need to call me sir, fine, whatever, just no rankings, got it?" "SIR, YES SIR!" the two men called back. Ed rolled his eyes annoyed.

"ANYWAY. As you were saying, Chris?" Christain flinched slightly. "Oh! Yes, sir, here it is." He spread the paper out on the table and he pointed out the areas that appeared to be blotched with red. "We've searched these areas top and bottom and found nothing there. Though, searching those areas took up a lot of time, you see? We still have the whole town to search."

Edward leaned in closer to the map. "Mind if I take this for a second?" "Uh… No, sir, go ahead." The soldiers and Hawkeye watched as Edward took the map up and looked it over. His eyes darted from point to point, moving incredibly fast. He paused when he realized they were all watching him. He felt a little bead of sweat form on his neck. _How did Mustang put up with this sort of thing every day!? _He brought his face even closer to the map to shield his face from their stares.

Chris wasn't kidding—they had barely even searched any of the city! Ed paused suddenly. Something was weird about this map… But what? "Hey, Chris." "Yes, sir?" "What're all these markings and letters for?" Christain leaned over Edward to look. "Oh! Those are just the sewer lines. They mark them for this city because it rains here every day, and they teach the residents which sewer lines are which so when they announce on the radio that one of them is flooded, they can quickly give a letter name and get people out of there quickly."

Edward grinned wildly. "And which line floods the most?" Hawkeye perked slightly, seeing where Edward was going with this question. "Uh, that would be… Here. Pipe C. It's a small pipe that is in an inclined area, so it floods quicker than the others." Edward turned to the man. "And how big is it exactly?"

"It's approximately two meters in diameter," Martin spoke. Edward almost raised an eyebrow at him if not for the information being good. "Okay… And what is the largest building that this pipeline is connected to?" The two men looked at each other and then turned back to their commander. "Well, the largest is this hotel, sir." Edward groaned. "… What's the _second _largest building the pipeline is connected to?"

Martin pointed on the map. "Here. This is an old house owned by a used-to-be resident that died a month ago. He has no relatives so no one has tried to clean out the house or tried to sell it. The state was actually going to claim it but then before they could start, this whole incident occurred and they aren't allowed in yet due to us trying to keep this 'Chimera City' under the table of the public."

Edward nodded slowly. "Martin…" "Yes, sir?" Edward turned to him. "How many medical supplies can you get in a pack weighing less than five pounds?" The man raised a brow. "Quite a few, sir, why?" Ed knitted his brows. "We're gonna need to bring the essentials and then some, but we need to pack lightly so we don't make a lot of noise or get slowed down."

Hawkeye rested a hand on Ed's shoulder. "So, are we checking here first?" Edward nodded, rolling the map up, much to Christain's horror. "And hopefully this will be the only place we'll have to check." The two men glanced at each other a look of doubt. There was no way a child could predict where a kidnapped military war veteran would be held.

"So! Start getting ready because we'll leave at…" Edward checked his watch. "… At 18:30. That gives everyone twenty minutes to get everything together and ready to go for when we head out." He raised his automail to a salute, signaling for the soldiers to leave. As they closed the door behind them Edward lowered his arm, the metal squeaking loudly.

Lieutenant Hawkeye immediately grew concerned. "Edward, does it need to be oiled? I'm pretty sure automail isn't supposed to sound like that…" The boy groaned and popped the right side of his neck. He sat down on the bed and pulled the mechanical arm across his chest, the loud scratching of metal and gears causing him to wince from the high-pitched noise.

"No, I wish it were that simple. My automail always gets like this when it's in humid areas. And considering what those two said about it raining everyday here… Ugh, this is gonna be a painful stay." He hung his head before falling back on the mattress. Riza couldn't help but smile sadly. "Does it hurt terribly?" Edward shrugged. "Yeah, but I've been having this problem since I first got automail. I'm used to it by now. Besides, it's a medical thing, not the machines. So no help there."

The woman breathed out silently. She looked back up at the blonde teen laying on the bed.

"Do you think we'll find him?" she asked softly.

Edward's eyes opened quickly. He looked over at the lieutenant who now wore a pained expression. He frowned slightly. "I wish I could say that we were for sure going to find him, but I can't. But I do think we have a pretty good chance at it." She smiled and nodded. "Do you want for me to go get Alphonse so you two can talk a bit?" He nodded. "That'd be great, thanks." When the doorknob turned as she went down the hallway toward the stairs, Edward felt his body shake.

He turned on his stomach and hugged the pillow tight, trembling, and he held the pillow close to himself as he curled on his side. He had never done something like this before! He'd never conducted a search party, let alone as the highest ranking officer! He whimpered slightly.

He hoped he knew what he was doing. He REALLY hoped he knew what he was doing. He heard the clank of his brother's armor as he came up the stairs. He listened to hear if there were any other footsteps, but there weren't. He wouldn't have to hide his worry from any of the soldiers, and that calmed him somewhat.

As Alphonse entered the room he noticed his brother laying curled on the bed and cuddling a pillow to his chest. "Ed? Are you okay?" Edward nodded. "Can you close the door, Al?"

Click.

Ed sighed, his breath shaky. "Al, do you think I'm really able to do this?" The armored boy walked over next to the bed and kneeled to be eye-level with his brother. "I don't know, but you'll be okay, as usual, Brother." Edward looked up into the empty space his brother's "eyes" were. "But what if I'm not? What if I screw up the entire search mission? Or… What if we do find Mustang but he's…!" Ed choked before he could finish. He buried his head into his pillow.

He wasn't crying, but he questioned why he wasn't. Was he just so stubborn that his body even refused to cry now? His breathing was heavy and quick. He felt a heavy hand rub his back and he tried to calm down.

"You'll find him, Brother. I know you will."

"I hope so, Al. I really hope so…"


	3. Chapter 3

Ch. 3

Edward's team gathered at the front door and looked out the windows. The rain was starting and from the way the guards from outside stayed inside the house as soon as it started sent a note to Ed's brain. He hung his head and sighed heavily.

This was going to be a tiring, cold, wet, trek to the sewer, which would be flooding.

"Okay, guys, don't bother bringing a coat or anything. I know it's raining and it's probably gonna be cold, but having long coats or umbrellas will only slow and hinder us. Okay?" Ed's team nodded and Hawkeye adjusted her newly donned uniform so that her gun would be slightly dryer in the downpour. Edward opened the door and they stepped outside.

Actually he took one step and his foot sank in the thick, clay mud. "Ah! Gross… Freaking automail…" He tugged on his leg until it came loose and then started again with his flesh leg, which was less heavy so it was easier to walk on that.

But he had to put his left foot down again and he felt a vein pulse on his forehead from anger.

Hawkeye wrapped an arm around him and helped pull him out of the mud that surrounded the hotel and led him to where it wasn't as quick to engulf him. He nodded a thanks to her and she relinquished her hold. Edward shielded his eyes from the rain that now hissed as it whizzed by.

"Quite the storm, huh?" Ed had to practically yell, but it wasn't like he didn't anyway. Marty nodded and pointed ahead to where they could take out the map. They all hurried under the cover of an old restaurant's porch. Chris took out the map, which thankfully was still holding together despite the rain. He pointed to where they needed to go and started speaking.

"If we are to go to the old Yorkshire Manor… We'll need to pass through the square and then we-" "No." The man's eyes fell upon the young boy's face. "Sir?" Edward shook his head. "We aren't going to the Manor, we're going to the sewer connected to it." Marty and Chris let a look of surprise and disgust overtake their faces. Edward scowled. "We agreed earlier on that…" The men nodded and sighed. "Well, we'll still have to go through the square to get there. Only problem is… Well…"

Edward raised a brow at the unfinished statement. "Is what?" Marty coughed nervously. "Well… The square is the most heavily populated area in town…" Edward shrugged. "So? What about it?" Riza elbowed him softly. "You remember what they called this place?" Edward blinked.

"Uh… Limixi?"

Hawkeye shook her head. "No, I mean what do they call it now?" Edward stared at her confused. It clicked suddenly. "Oh!... Oh… Why are you two nervous then? They're chimeras, not monsters." Chris popped in suddenly. "There's a difference?" Hawkeye gasped. She quickly grabbed Edward, just before he tried to attack the man.

"OF COURSE THERE'S A DIFFERENCE, YOU IDIOT! THEY'RE STILL PEOPLE! THEY STILL HAVE SOULS! THEY ARE HUMAN WHETHER THEY LOOK LIKE ONE OR NOT! IF YOU THINK THAT THEY'RE MONSTERS, THEN THE ONLY MONSTER HERE IS YOU!" Edward gasped for breath as the rain was the only noise heard amongst the silent soldiers around him. He glared daggers into Chris' face, who currently looked terrified by the dangerously angry boy.

Edward growled and head out in to the rain. "We're going! NOW!" The soldiers rushed after him, Riza trying to resist the urge to talk Ed down to a calmer attitude. However, she knew how much it hurt him to hear what Christain had said. She remembered Nina; the sweet little girl, and then her mutilated body splattered against a wall like a splash of paint. Her mind hadn't been all there as she was very young, but she still had a human soul. She suddenly remembered who they were looking for.

And she realized just how pained Edward was now.

She sped up to pass the other men and she walked next to Ed. She walked there in silence, not looking at him. She raised her arm and wrapped it around his shoulder, her hand sending signals of cold as she grabbed his automail shoulder in an embrace. He walked slower, and he glanced up at her. His eyes were so strained. She knitted her brows and gave a slow nod to him.

He sighed and continued on.

He had learned from the Colonel his and the lieutenant's little silent language. It was an interesting one when they weren't using literal code, which he still didn't understand. It was a matter of studying each other's faces and looking for the slightest difference from a blank expression. Even an incredibly subtle change in the focus of their pupils would translate to a whole phrase. Roy had tried to teach it to him once before, but Ed had found it far too awkward for him to learn. The boy had to stare at Roy's face for a full five minutes, memorizing where his muscles were, how his eyes were when relaxed, the way he breathed, and even how he blinked.

All while being within a foot's distance from his face.

Needless to say, it ended with Edward having to write an apology letter for the bruise left on the man's face that distinctly resembled an automail fist.

But even though he only lasted a minute before losing his cool, he did actually notice things later on about people's expressions. Even some things that the people themselves were oblivious to what they were showing. Again, another lesson taken into his repertoire.

He wondered if he would ever see his boss's face again…

He huffed a sigh. Of course, even if he did, he sure as hell wasn't getting that close to his face ever again. EVER. He turned the next corner and he stopped. He couldn't believe his eyes.

There were chimeras everywhere. Some on four legs, some on two, some even had three! He also took notice how none of them looked human except for their actions and the way they behaved. He nearly shrieked when a small chimera ran past him, being chased by another larger chimera. Both had very different vocals, the smaller having a voice similar to a cat and the other a goat. Edward noticed how some of the other chimeras got a little nervous as these two chased each other and he feared one of them might actually be attacking, but he quickly relaxed as he saw they were indeed only playing.

"They're so weird…" Chris mumbled, and Edward sent a glare of death in his way. He quickly shut his mouth and flashed a look of apology. Edward continued on, looking at the used-to-be people that flooded the square like the water falling from the heavens. "Do they not mind the rain?" Hawkeye shook her head. "They've all lived here long enough, some maybe all their lives. Rain is a daily thing for them that I doubt it would bother them at all."

Edward nodded, his wet hair shifting to his face and it stuck there before he wiped it away. He walked up to a particularly deer-like chimera and put an innocent smile on his face. The chimera turned toward him and cowered slightly, as though Ed were to attack or hurt it. He put his hands up and shook his head, and the chimera calmed. Edward then asked, "Hi, uh, my name is Edward. I'm here to try and help you all and also find a friend of mine who might be in the same predicament you all are in. It's a little hard to see the street signs in all this rain—would you mind pointing us to where the Manor is?"

The chimera's eyes grew wide and it looked back and forth, as if making sure there were no stray eyes watching. Ed suddenly noticed it was in fact a she. "Ma'am…?" The chimera looked back to him and stepped closer, making Marty and Christain shift their feet, their bodies tensing up. She looked Ed in the eyes and the muscles that would've controlled her eyebrows knitted together and she nodded.

She raised her strange hoof-like hand up and pointed down the street and then motioned which ways they would need to turn. She looked back to Ed and he smiled. "Thank you very much, ma'am. I hope I wasn't too much of a bother!" He nodded farewell and he was off, his team following him. The chimera woman stood there in the rain and watched them go.

"Well, she was nice, wasn't she?" Edward tried to ease the tension in his team. Marty scoffed and Chris coughed awkwardly. Hawkeye sighed and nodded. Ed turned around and shook his head. "You know these are still people, right? Whether they look it or not, they still think and have human souls." Marty crossed his arms as they walked.

"No disrespect, sir, but how would you know?"

Edward stopped, rain dripping from his face as he stay still. "I don't want either of you men to tell anyone of what I'm going to tell you, and it's a matter of trusting my life secret with you two." Marty swallowed. "And how important is it that we keep this secret sir?" Hawkeye turned to them, glancing at the young alchemist as he stood still.

"It's a matter of, if it got out, he would be given the death penalty and his brother would become an experiment of the military."

Mache and Northrop couldn't help a gasp. How could this kid have a secret so bad that it would end up costing him his life if it got out to the public!? And now he was trusting them with his secret? No, they couldn't take the information. They wouldn't.

"Sir, with all due respect, I would rather not risk such a thing. I'll just take your word for it." Edward raised his head and looked back to the men. They both were holding their heads down in a bow, which caught Edward completely off guard. "Excuse me?" Marty looked up. "Sir, we appreciate the trust you are trying to have in us, but I believe it would be best if a secret is kept secret."

Edward folded his arms. "Well, the soldiers here would learn soon enough anyways… But are you sure you don't just wanna know it now?" The two men nodded quickly. Edward wiped the wet hair out of his face and grumbled, "Okay, okay, but you're gonna know sometime or later…"

The team headed back on their trek through the downpour and thick mud of the dirt streets. Just before they turned the corner of the Manor, Edward stopped them and pointed to the sewer that was on the corner. Hawkeye nodded and stepped back. The alchemist clapped his hands together and slammed them into the muddy road in front of the grate. Energized light crackled from his palms and engulfed the sewer opening. Soon, there was a large hole to enter and a ladder to climb down.

Edward started down the ladder and jumped down once it ended. He looked up and saw the lieutenant following suit, and he held back a chuckle as Marty and Chris exchanged scared glances and debated who would take the ladder first. "Ya know, guys, it's perfectly safe! Just be careful not to slip since it's raining and all!" Edward waited for both of them to make it down before he closed the ground back up and soon the only light in the pipe way was from the drainage holes.

They took the map out again and followed the pipes that supposedly led to the Manor.

Edward felt his knees tremble slightly. If what they were looking for was somewhere nearby, would he still be okay? Or would he be too far gone to help? Or even worse? Ed's blood began to boil.

If a single thing was wrong with Mustang if—no WHEN—they found him, he swore under his breath that he would find whoever had done the wronging and make them pay. He may not have liked Mustang, but he was still a human he knew and trusted. And when the Fullmetal Alchemist trusts someone…

Anyone who messes with them will be in for a world of hurt.

"We should be really close now… Right now we're in the entrance way." Edward nodded. There were now no lights to speak of and Edward was having to constantly transmute his automail so that they would have light to travel by. It was no easy task. The other soldiers didn't notice, but Ed's face wasn't still soaked by the rain water, it was soaked with sweat. Edward couldn't recall any time where an alchemist had to do this.

Except maybe by Roy, but his special niche was fire, the natural source of light. It was easy for him to keep it going. Edward started to think '_where's that bastard when you need him?'_, but shook the thought away. He shouldn't think like that. Not now when Roy possibly needed them.

They all paused when they heard a crash up above.

"What the hell? I thought you said no one was in this house anymore!?" Edward hissed at his men, excluding Riza. They both jumped and Edward stopped when he realized they were just as terrified as he was. "Damn it… Seems like I was right…" Marty asked quietly, "Sir? What do you mean?" Edward sighed softly and motioned for the team to huddle close so they wouldn't make too much of a noise.

"Didn't you think that a man who owned this place just mysteriously died only a few days to weeks before the first report? It seems a little too strange." Edward lowered his head and listened for movement, but didn't hear any that weren't water drips.

"Hey, Chris, how far down under the house are we exactly?" Edward whispered to Christain. "We should be about ten feet under or so." Edward nodded. He continued on, being careful not to talk too loudly as he briefed them on his plan.

"Okay, what we need to do it search all over these pipes until we meet back in wherever it is I make a marker. We meet back there whether or not if we find something. If we find something of interest, we need to go back to the marker and tell everyone else. If not, then we need to start to head up and investigate the Manor. Maybe inside we'll meet whoever…"

Edward stopped walking.

"Edward…? What's wrong?" Hawkeye asked, her voice sounding very concerned. She saw that Ed was looking to his right and had his mouth agape. His brows were pulled together and his breathing became shaky and quick. The woman slowly walked around him to see what he was looking at.

She noted before she was completely behind him that he was at the mouth of another large pipeline. She turned all the way around him and stared. She couldn't believe what she was seeing…

At the end of the tunnel, tangled in ropes, was a large chimera.

It wasn't moving.

The rest of the team moved in behind Ed to see what he was looking at and they gasped quietly. "But… What is one of them doing here?" Chris muttered. Edward took a step into the tunnel, his boot sloshing some of the water that was draining down from the hole above the chimera.

He took another. Again, a slight splash of water. He took another.

And his foot hit a small stone.

The chimera's eyes slowly opened. Edward held his breath as it stared at the wall before it. He could hear a small, almost silent whine escape from it when it breathed. He swallowed, his throat thick.

He coughed quietly, alerting the beast that he was there. It flinched, but only slightly. It let out a soft, pained whimper as it slowly turned its head to look at Ed. Its pale white eyes flashed a look of horror and fear as it turned to look.

And once they landed on Edward they stopped.

Ed stared at the beast's face.

And it stared at his.

They stared at each other, the only sound coming from the water that spilled out next to the creature. Neither made a sound. Edward's pupils shrank as his mind unraveled what lay before him.

He slowly started walking toward the chimera. He no longer was transmuting and the entire pipe was consumed by the blind darkness. He didn't care. He ran his hand down the side of the tunnel as he slumped down to his knees.

"Um, sir? I'm sorry, but could you do that alchemy thing again? None of us can see anything." Edward scowled. "FINE." He clapped his hands together, and he heard the chimera move out of fear from the sudden loud noise.

Edward transmuted his arm into a blade and he focused his mind to keeping it transmuted, adjusting the tiniest flakes of metal so he would use the minimalist effort. The light showed that he was in fact only a few inches from the creature and he heard his team gasp, though mostly from Chris. He looked at the feathered beast before him.

It looked back at him, its eyes only barely showing a slight change in color from the eye to the iris and pupil, but all were shades of pale grey or white. Edward remembered those eyes. Only he remembered the last time he was this close to ones like them… Well…

He extended his left hand out to the creature, slowly moving toward its head. It made a small sort of chirping sound and moved back a little, but it quickly stopped and began coughing. It hurried back its old position and gasped for air.

Edward felt his heart clench when he realized it.

The chimera wasn't just tied up—it was tangled up by a lengthened noose!

"H-hold on! I'm going to try and get this off of you, okay? I need you to be completely still so I don't accidentally nick you, you hear?" The chimera looked up at and stared into his deep golden eyes.

And it smiled.

It took a minute for Edward to get over that before he shook away his noticeable surprise. He motioned to his team that he was letting it loose and the men nodded, but Hawkeye suddenly opposed.

"Edward, don't! It could be dangerous!" She insisted, her hand poised over her signature 8mm. Edward almost yelled back, but caught himself before he did so. "So what!? If it is, then that's my own fault and you can blame me—but I will _not_ let it just waste away here being strangled!" Hawkeye knitted her brows and nodded slowly, but she did not move her hand away from her gun holster.

Edward put his left hand over the rope and he hissed in disgust when he realized he couldn't move the killing weapon at all, not even to slip a finger under. He looked to the chimera and took a deep breath. "Well… Remember to stay completely still, okay, buddy?"

The chimera let out a sort of scoff and took a (barely) deep breath as it braced itself.

Edward took a breath as well and he began slowly sawing away at the rope. In the darkness, he heard the rope squeak slightly as it was being cut. Watered down, it was even harder to cut than it would normally be. He was careful not to rush his actions though. If he had even one slip up, this chimera's life would be draining away down with the rain water.

He suddenly heard a snap and pulled his arm back as quickly as he could. He heard a loud gasp as the chimera filled its lungs completely after what must've been an eternity. Ed began transmuting his arm again, still being weakened by the act. He looked back at the now breathing creature.

It turned to look at him and it smiled again, though now Ed noticed the strange teeth it possessed. It had no lips, and yet it did on the ends, and it had six teeth protruding from the skin around its mouth—two large canines on the bottom and four less large ones on top. He forced himself to look away from them and back to its actual face.

He swallowed as he stared into its deep, seemingly blind eyes. It blinked and cocked its head though, showing that it could see. Edward lifted his left hand to its face and slowly cupped its jawline. It blinked in confusion. Edward leaned in close it, nearly nose to… _Wait, does it not have a nose!? No… No nose. Weird. _

Edward pulled this chimera's head up slightly and he squinted as he studied its face. Its brows were raised in a sort of surprised confusion, but they settled back down as the boy before it studied its features. Edward slowly shook his head and his face changed to a look of sorrow.

He put his other hand up against its face, being careful to avoid a transmutation involving it. He slowly pulled on the fine feathers that surrounded its pale face. He began to brush them back and paused when its face was completely visible.

And he stayed frozen for many moments.

His hands began to tremble.

His lip quivered slightly.

He lowered his hands and hung his head. The chimera's feathers shifted back to their natural positions. It gave a sort of cooing sound and tried to look at Ed's face. Edward glanced up from behind his wet bangs. He bit his lip to keep from choking a sob back.

"Do… Do you understand what I'm saying?" he asked quietly, his voice quivering. The chimera blinked and nodded. "Okay… Were you… Human…?" The chimera frowned sadly and nodded again. Edward's pulse pounded in his body. It was time for the big question.

This was it.

He was sure of the answer.

He knew it had to be.

He just knew it.

He took a deep breath. He looked up at the beast. He asked.

"Are you Roy Mustang?"

The chimera stared at the boy. It opened its mouth to speak but only a garbled sound came out. It winced. It shut its eyes, as if trying to shake the sound out of its memory. It looked back up at Edward and smiled, the hints of tears brimming its eyes…

It nodded.

It nodded again and again and again. It nodded and it whimpered. It cried with a smile.

Edward's breathing grew shakier and shakier with every passing one. He lifted his left hand—shaking terribly—and he rested it on its head. He felt his lip quiver. And yet, still no tears came. No, he was still too prideful to let them fall. He instead turned to Hawkeye and stared at her with a look of pure anguish.

She hurried to his side and wrapped an arm around him as she looked at the chimera before her. She kept herself from gasping, but that didn't mean it didn't still shock her. It looked just like Roy. Aside from the obvious changes in anatomy, all the proportions were right, all the subtle muscles. Even the hair atop of his head was the same, though slightly longer. And the way he was looking back at her…

As if he were seeing an old friend long since passed.

She reached out and slowly ran her hand down his face, wiping away some of the tears. He smiled again and tried to wipe some away himself, but winced. He looked down at himself and growled when he saw he was still tangled in the rope. Edward quickly grabbed one part of the rope and cut it off.

Roy stared at the boy as he continued cutting away ropes.

GOD he had missed this kid.

Hawkeye pulled the ropes off of her commander as Edward moved from one to the next. She was careful not to pull on his feathers or hurt him. She glanced back at his face and she sighed sadly. He picked up on this and he knitted his brows, and forced a smile. She blinked slowly back to the ropes.

Roy's smile faded and was replaced by a sad frown.

Edward pulled the last piece of rope off of Roy and smiled. "There ya go, Colonel. You're free. You need some help getting up?" Edward asked as he stood back up. Roy stared at him with a sad expression. "What's wrong?" Edward grew concerned as the chimera looked away with a look of shame on his face.

He glanced at his arms and gulped as he saw he no longer had any. His arms now were in the form of two very large black-feathered wings with curiously sharp talons near where he guessed the wrist was. He felt a bead of sweat fall down his cheek. "Ah… I see, uh, well… Automail! There's no risk with automail! Here, let me help you up."

Edward reached down to grab Roy's 'wrist' and started to help him up. Roy squawked out of surprise and worry. His feet splashed water every which way as he tried to stand. However, his feet shook and his knees buckled. He came crashing down on the hard concrete and let out a whimper of pain.

"Colonel!" Edward stooped down quickly to try and help the pained chimera. He rested his left hand on his back and he flinched. He ran his hand down Roy's back and let out a shuddered gasp.

"You're… You're so thin!" Roy looked up at the boy through a squint and stifled a choke. Edward wrapped an arm around the creature's waist and hoisted him up. "Hey! Marty, Chris, I want you two to hurry back to base and get a place set up for him!"

"Sir, don't you want me to look at him first?" Marty asked, moving his hand to his satchel. Edward shook his head. "No. This is a little different than what we came prepared for. You two go. NOW!"

The two men headed off down the pipes, luckily remembering their way out.

Edward shifted his grip and draped one wing over his back and opposite shoulder. "Can you at least stand, Mustang?" Roy shook his head, his eyes becoming droopier by the second. "Hey, you need to stay awake for us, okay?" Roy stared at the ground beneath him and scoffed.

He closed his eyes and his body grew heavy on Edward's small frame.

"Hey! Colonel! No, c'mon, wake up damn it!" He started to shake him, but he still got no response. He hissed through his teeth as he pulled the chimera up higher. "Hawkeye, can you help?" She nodded and took the other side.

Edward and Hawkeye began half dragging half carrying the Colonel out of the sewer, following the water as it drained out. Edward's transmutations grew dimmer and dimmer as he tried to focus on carrying his boss along their path. He glared forward, the blue light reflecting off of his bright amber eyes.

Whoever had done this was going to pay heavily for their sins.

As soon as the two officers met a sewage grate that shone moonlight through into the darkness, they felt their steps quicken. Edward stopped transmuting his automail and they traveled by the stripes of moonlight that danced off of the water. Even with their quickened paces it still took them at least fifteen minutes to get to the ladder Edward had made.

He noted how the grate had been removed for his men to crawl out through. He made a note to himself to apologize for not remembering to change the entryway back. He handed the Colonel over to the Lieutenant and he transmuted the opening to be larger in order to get the large chimera out with greater ease.

Once they got Roy out of the sewer Edward changed the opening back and got rid of the ladder by forcing it back to brick. He grabbed Roy under the wing and he and the lieutenant dragged him through the rain and mud back to the hotel.

Little did they know that they were being watched by a pair of glowing green eyes…


	4. Chapter 4

Ch.4

Alphonse looked out the window at the moon that peeked out from behind some storm clouds. The rain had lessened its onslaught, but it still fell with great speed and strength. It was still light out when his brother and his squad left to search for the Colonel, but the moon outside practically sneered as if to say, 'Heh! They're probably lost. Good luck finding them too!' Alphonse looked away and had he any lungs he would've sighed.

Suddenly a loud thumping against the door rang in the lobby. Al went to unlock it and found Mache and Northrop, covered in mud and rain, gasping for breath as thought they had just run a marathon. "Are you two okay? Wait… Where's my brother?" Al asked and his soul was clenching as he waited for their answer.

"M… Major Elric… Elric is okay. He told us to… To run ahead and… And…" Marty gasped as he tried to find his breath. Chris put a hand on his back and he continued for him. "Edward told us to run ahead and make sure a place could be set up for Colonel Mustang when they bring him back."

"You mean you guys found him!? That's great! I'm so glad he's okay!" Al felt a little bliss as he heard his friend was all right. Unlike Ed, Alphonse had no official business with the Colonel, so the man often spoke to him naturally. Their friendship was less strong then his brother's was, but it was more relaxed.

Both men in front of the armor looked at each and then back to Alphonse. "Well, I wouldn't say he's 'okay,' but he's alive." Al grew slightly concerned. "What do you mean he's not 'okay' I mean, you said you needed to find a place for him here, right? Then that means he'll recover from whatever happened, right?" Marty shook his head after he got his breathing under control.

"It's not that simple, kid. He isn't the same." Alphonse closed the door and stared at the two soldiers. "What do you mean by that?" he asked. Chris turned to head up the stairs and headed into the room Ed had used temporarily.

"Let's just say the City has a new resident."

The two left Alphonse alone in the lobby. The only sounds came from the movement of supplies being moved around by them as they set up the room for the Colonel, and the rain that beat against the door and windows. Al had absolutely no idea what they meant.

The moon was even higher in the sky and the rain was now only a normal drizzle. Alphonse was sitting on the lounge, watching the fireplace as the flames jumped and danced. The soldiers from Ed's team had already talked to all the other men about the situation, thought Alphonse was too busy trying to keep from worrying about his brother to go be briefed on the Colonel. If he was alive, then everything was fine…

Right?

Alphonse again jumped at the sound of pounding on the door.

He hurried over and pulled the door so fast it squeaked on its hinges. He looked down and saw Lieutenant Hawkeye covered in mud and water, just like the others, but she also had a few black feathers stuck to her uniform coat and her hair. She was breathing heavily as she stared at Alphonse. Then she looked behind her and Al saw Edward a little ways off, dragging something very large and dark in the rain. Hawkeye turned back to Alphonse.

"Are all of the soldiers aware of our issue at hand, Al? Is a place set up?" Alphonse nodded at both, making sure to leave out how he himself didn't know what was going on. She sighed with relief. "Good. Keep the door open, Al, while I help your brother bring the Colonel inside." He nodded again and held the door open wider.

She ran off back to his brother and he watched as they exchanged a few words (that were inaudible to him) and took the other side of whatever it was Ed was carrying. They began carrying it toward the house when a guard walked behind Al. He looked out the door and saw the massive inky form and he ran toward the armor.

"Shut the door, you fool! They'll get in!" Alphonse shoved him off. "Yeah! That's the idea!" The man growled and he drew out his gun and pointed it at the creature's head.

Hawkeye immediately drew out her own gun and stepped in front of Roy. She raised it to point at the other soldier's head. Edward felt his vision fade and focus as he looked back and forth between the two guns. Hawkeye stepped closer, showing her rank that decorated her shoulders. The Corporal swallowed. He stepped back, but kept his gun at the ready. "State your business!"

"Lieutenant Hawkeye and Major Elric bringing back Colonel Roy Mustang for protection and recovery from the field. Now, let us in, or I can't say what will happen to you." She kept her eyes focused and sharp. The man felt fire burn into in his soul and he put away his gun. He suddenly remembered the briefing he had been dragged to and quickly saluted.

"I apologize, ma'am! I'm sorry—I somehow forgot you were coming back, ma'am! Again, my sincerest apologies!" Hawkeye lowered her gun as well and she nodded. She headed inside and waited for Edward to enter, but she raised a brow when he wasn't moving.

"Please… Help him…! Please… I can't move…"

Alphonse gasped and began to exit the door before Riza pushed him back. "You'll sink in the mud too, Al, just be ready when I hand Colonel over to you—AND BE CAREFUL WITH HIM." Alphonse nodded, hiding the shock he had when he saw that by 'Colonel' they were meaning the chimera Edward was holding up.

Hawkeye stepped into the muck and took the other side of Roy's form, taking all of his weight on her shoulders. She sank deeper in the mud as well, though, still noticeably less so than Edward. Edward sighed when the weight was removed from his small frame. Mustang may not be all that heavy, for he only weighed around forty pounds now, but all the rain and mud had weighed down his feathers and hair.

The water alone had added around twenty pounds to the weight Edward had to carry, and he was glad that the weight was gone. He tried pulling himself out of the mud as Alphonse carefully took the colonel. He cradled the chimera in his arms, and tried his hardest to keep himself from accidentally hurting him. He looked to Hawkeye and watched as she and Ed struggled to get out of the mud, but Ed was deeper in than she.

"Where do I put him?" he asked the soldier to his right, who was eying the beast nervously. "The first door upstairs, at least, that's where I think they said to keep him." Alphonse nodded and began his way up the stairs.

How could he have not heard that the colonel—Colonel Roy Mustang—was found a chimera!?

He looked down at the mass in his arms. Its face was even paler than Roy's face had been before, and that was saying something as the man almost never went out in daylight. The colonel's tail practically poured water onto the stairs as he was being carried to the room. His breathing was soft but raspy, and Al could swear he could hear whimpering.

It had to be his imagination.

He nudged the open door to enter the room. He found the bed, which had been doubled to accommodate the creature, and he laid him down gently. He kept his head raised until he could prop a pillow under it and when he did he let the chimera slowly sink into the cushion.

Alphonse stepped back and looked at the full form of what was now Roy Mustang.

He was speechless to say the least.

He looked back to the door and headed back outside the room. He saw Hawkeye inside, her boots absolutely covered in mud. But Edward still wasn't inside.

"Argh! You know what? Screw this!" Edward yanked his automail foot out of the boot and lunged forward to make it meet the marble floors from inside. He pulled his flesh leg forward as well, and he left both boots outside in the mud. "Edward!" Hawkeye groaned.

"What!? I'll get them later! Besides, right now we… Need to focus on… Mustang… Ugh…"

He suddenly became very shaky in his footwork and he slipped on some of the rain water that was now puddled inside. Hawkeye's quick actions were the only things that kept him from splitting his head open on the hard floor. "Edward! Edward, what's wrong?" She sounded so concerned, like a mother.

Edward shook his head and he tried to stand again, but he again started to fall.

This time, it was Alphonse who caught him. He looked up at his younger brother and faked a grin. It was so obviously false that Alphonse sighed and picked his brother up in his arms like he had Roy. "Brother, first the colonel, and now you? What happened!?" Ed looked back at his brother and grinned, though more of a pained one. "Well, I can officially say… That I, Edward Elric… Ugh… Am the living… Light bulb…!" he trailed off to a moan.

"Wait, do you mean to say you were struck by lightning!? Oh my God, Ed!" Alphonse almost started shaking, but the lieutenant stepped in beside him. "No, but he was transmuting for practically half of the mission to give us light." She jumped when Alphonse shouted at his older sibling.

"ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR MIND!? YOU COULD'VE DIED OF EXHAUSTION!"

Edward squirmed out of pain, his ears ringing. "BUT I DIDN'T! And can you keep it down? Mustang… Needs… Ugh…" He trailed off again, raising a hand to his head which Al noticed wasn't actually covered in rain, but in sweat.

He carried his brother into Roy's room and looked around for where to set him down. He found nowhere else but the bed, which was half covered by Roy and his trembling form. _Wait._

_ Trembling?_

_ Maybe he's cold… _Al thought to himself. He turned to his brother. "Sorry, Brother, but I'm going to set you down on here too, okay?" Ed smiled with one eye closed and nodded. "That's… That's fine, Al. Thanks…"

Alphonse set his sibling down and the boy tried sitting upright but he lost his balance and he fell to his side, his back against Roy's wing. He turned over to look at his boss. He did NOT look good. Ed rolled onto his back and rested his left hand on the beast's shoulder, getting the appendage soaked from mass that practically oozed water like a sponge.

Alphonse ran down the stairs to go get help for the two alchemists. Hawkeye walked over beside Ed and knelt down to brush some hair from his face. "Why didn't you tell me you were injured? I could've carried the colonel more than you could, you know." Her eyes flashed a look of sadness and Edward smiled to try and cheer her up.

"I didn't say because I'm NOT. I'm not hurt, I'm just… Drained… There's a difference." She sighed and shook her head with a grin. It faded quickly though as she gazed at her friend.

His breath was shaking as was his frame. She ran her hand through his bangs and rested it against his forehead. "Well, he's a little warm, but not terribly. I think it's just shock." Edward turned to the woman. "What do you mean, 'shock'? What could've put him into shock?" She pulled her hand back and she walked quickly to the bathroom to grab all the towels. "Perhaps it was the sudden ability to breath properly again, or the blood flow being allowed back to his head, or even the fact that he had been down there for what appeared to be a long time…"

She returned with the towels and she folded one of the smaller ones and dabbed away the sweat that was on Ed's face. He blushed a little at the act of compassion. "Ya know… I think Mustang might need this more…" She sighed and nodded. "Yes… But I can tell you that Al is going to go get some of the soldiers to help him, men who are far more skilled than I."

Edward tried to lift himself to his elbows, but the woman pushed him back down. "But he isn't human anymore! They could hurt him when they think they're helping him!" Hawkeye closed her eyes and stayed still for a moment before adding on. "Yes, perhaps so, but what if we were to do the same?"

Edward frowned and looked at Roy. It was true, they could accidentally hurt him by trying to help. He heard Alphonse running through the lobby, and many feet followed the sounds of the armor. Edward ran his hand down the chimera's jawline and smiled sadly.

_He'll be okay… Now…_

* * *

It was now the very wee hours of the morning and Alphonse and Edward sat against the wall opposite of Roy, watching him rest. Edward laid his head against his brother's chest plate and sighed. He had slept for a few hours and then abruptly awoken when in his semi-conscious state of mind he remembered the colonel being cared for. He had looked over and seen the chimera sleeping, a cool compress against his forehead and his brother sitting next to the bed.

Looking at his commanding officer now it was almost impossible to tell he had been suffocating in a sewer line had he not been there himself. His breathing was no longer labored or struggled, but it was now slow and calm. Ed still caught a whimper every now and then, but from what he heard from Alphonse about what all happened after Edward fell asleep, it was expected.

Upon getting the colonel dry, the medical team had noticed some blood was coming off on the towels and they quickly looked to where the source seemed to be from. It was found that the chimera was in fact injured heavily at one point around his head, neck, and midsection. However, all were too minor to be of concern now, and they were washed out, dried, and left to heal on their own.

Edward felt a twinge of pity. He had been hurt badly before to where it hurt so much he could barely stand it, but the only thing doctors could do was to give him pain medication and advise him to stay in bed. There was no telling how long Roy had been down in that pipeline injured with open wounds.

Their main concern with him right now was finding out what he could eat and get him at a healthy weight again, and to watch out for infection.

Edward's mind had a different priority.

How to turn him back into a human being again.

He knew he had lacked knowledge and power to help little Nina, but if he focused on researching the people of this town and chimera research, then maybe he could figure it out. He closed his eyes. No one had ever reversed a chimera. No one that either lived or the chimera lived. Chimeras were already considered a sort of moral taboo of alchemy, but it was believed it was impossible to reverse an already made chimera.

_Hopefully I can shatter that perception…_ Edward thought to himself.

Alphonse nudged Ed lightly and he pointed back to Roy. His tiny whimpering was a little louder and clearer. He also turned his head back and forth as though trying to avoid something the brothers were unable to see. "You think he's having a nightmare?" Alphonse said worriedly. Edward crossed his arms and watched the creature fight against whatever internal struggle it had. He sighed heavily.

"Who knows…?"

* * *

_ The sound of screams died down and all that could be heard was the soft crackling of energy and chains moving. Roy forced his eyes open, ignoring the pain. He had to know he was alive. His eyes struggled to focus just as Roy struggled to stay conscious. When they did focus, Roy could only stare at the sight before him. _

_ Locke and Thompson, or what used to be them, stood with chains straining against their newly strengthened captives. Locke was on all fours, his body looking like a mix between a dog, spider, and crocodile. His long sharpened teeth dripped saliva and blood onto the floor beneath him and his empty, white eyes looked on without focus. _

_ Thompson hissed with pain, his long beak leaking blood from its inside and nose. Barbs decorated his back and two large horns jutted out from the back of his head. He raised himself to his legs, spreading his long, deformed wings out. Roy felt himself get nauseous despite the lack of anything in his stomach when he saw that the Corporal had little to no support for his innards from his skin. His organs were easy to see against the thin grey skin that covered him from neck down. _

_ Roy flinched at the sound of a loud crack and he looked back over to Locke. Chain links chimed and rang out as they flew out over the floor. Locke staggered before regaining his footing. He started to growl at Thompson, as he was the only thing his eyes could see. The beaked chimera pulled back strong on his chain and it snapped as well, chain links repeating the actions of the ones done before them._

_ Roy slowly shuffled back against the wall behind him, but his chain was stronger than he was. He didn't have the raw strength the others did. He watched in fear as the two once friends began circled each other in a sort of death waltz. They snapped at each other, more and more drool coming from their mouths as they circled closer and closer together until they were finally only feet away from each other._

_ Suddenly letting out an ear piercing roar, Locke lunged for the horned beast, which ducked under the jaw of the four-legged creature. They began to fight in what appeared similar to wrestling, but with their teeth, claws, and roars. They rolled over each other and jumped and clawed and mangled one another—sending splatters of blood every which way around them, forming a ring. _

_ Roy raised himself to the sitting position and tried to get as far away as he could from the bloodbath, but he could only get so far as the wall before his chain stopped him. His eyes were wide with terror and he felt his teeth chatter. He called out, hoping to stop the two. __** Stop! Please! You'll kill each other! Please! **_

_ All he heard was a garbled mush up of sounds._

_ He froze. _

_ It sounded like an animal wanting to challenge the others. The two chimeras stopped and stared at him, each other's throats in their jaws. Blood gushed from their necks and they both whimpered as they fell. _

_ Thompson looked at Roy and let out a scream, a human scream, and he was dead... Staring at Roy with eyes wide open and blank. Roy's breath shuddered and he moaned quietly as he choked back a scream. He heard a growl and his head snapped to look at Locke._

_ He was dragging himself across the floor, his spine visible from the ribs down, and organs spreading out on the stone. He barked at Roy as he crawled ever closer. Blood rained from his body, but he continued. He had no memory of Roy. He had memory at all. Only instinct._

_ Kill…_

_ Kill…_

_ Kill…_

_Kill…_

… _Kill…_

_Roy was now trying to claw himself away from the monster before him. His voice was alien to him, and yet he still screamed for help as best he could, but it just sounded like an animal about to attack its prey. That wasn't what he meant. But Locke heard the sound for what it seemed like. His advance grew quicker as his body grew heavier and heavier with death. Roy cried against his chain, but it still remained secure to the stone. _

_ Roy looked around himself frantically, trying to find something to throw to fight back, but he found nothing but himself, which had not even seen yet. He would've frozen from the shock, but his adrenaline kept him focused. He saw out of the corner of his eye his new tail. It was heavy and long, and he quickly whipped it forward and he winced as he heard a snap._

_ He covered his head and neck with his new wings to shield himself from the attack, sure that it would come._

_ But it never did._

_ He peeked through his feathers and felt his eyes swell with fluid as he stared at the chimera before him. Its body was twitching and it let out a shuddering gasp before it went limp. Roy lowered his arms and stared at what he had done. He slowly moved his tail back to his side, trailing blood from the long hair that lay at the tip along the floor. _

_ The blood from Locke's neck seeped over the stone and dripped from Roy's tail. The beast's head was now staring at the wall behind it, bones protruding from the skin of its neck. Mustang felt himself shake._

_ He had killed him._

_ Murdered him._

_ His subordinate._

_ He looked down at what had once been his hands and his jaw trembled as he stared at the talons that jutted out of the claws atop his wings. He moved the claws back and forth, not out of curiosity but from horror. He was an animal. An unnatural animal. A murderer._

_ A monster._

_ He let out a scream of terror as his buried his head into his wings, claws gripping at his hair. He screamed again and again. He screamed until he didn't even know what he was doing it for. He stopped after he had to gasp for breath. He heard a soft click and his head shot up, face covered in tears and sweat._

_ The green-eyed man was leaning against the door frame with a cane. _

_ He was smiling._

_ Roy felt all of the anger and horror inside of him boil over. He lunged forward and roared. He tried to run at the madman and his clawed feet scratched into the stone as he tried. The man only seemed to relish in his pitiful attempts at attack. "So, tell me, are you mindless as well? Or are you still something more than a mindless killer?" Roy stopped and he felt himself snarl._

_ He was snarling._

_ He fell back and ran back to the wall and covered his mouth. He was snarling! Growling, snarling, roaring, screaming! All weren't his conscious actions! He moaned. _

_ The man calmly walked over to him, keeping a safe distance. He thrust his cane down onto Roy's tail and kept a blank expression as the beast roared with pain. He turned the cane right and left, digging it farther into the creature's skin. He lifted the cane off and it seemed he was done._

_ And then he pulled the cane apart to reveal a sword._

_ Roy screamed with a remarkably loud and high-pitched wail. _

_ The man's eyes shot open and he shook his head back and forth, as though he were a dog with a whistle. He slashed the weapon against Roy's middle and heaved his chest as he breathed with fury. He calmed as the chimera cried with agony and doubled over. "Quit your whining, Mister Colonel. It is not severe and will heal within a few days. But I would let this be a reminder to you…"_

_ He pointed the sword at Roy's neck right under his face._

_ "You belong… To me."_

_ And he was gone. Vanished._

_ Roy gulped. He began shaking violently. He curled up in a ball and tried to cover his wound. It was bleeding, but like the man had said, it was not serious. Roy hissed with pain. _

_**But it seriously hurt.**_

_He heard a loud crack, like one of far off thunder. _

_ He looked up and froze. He wasn't in the chamber anymore. He looked left and right, taking in the surroundings. He suddenly felt the chain wrap harder against his neck and he felt it become coarser and less cold._

_**What the-!?**_

_ He was suddenly being wrapped in the now long rope and he struggled against it._

_**What the hell is going on!? **_

_ His vision faltered for a moment and he shook his head to try and take the pain off._

_ He opened his eyes again and saw only darkness. The darkness swirled around him like smoke. He felt water suddenly fall on his back and neck. It was cold and oddly slimy._

_ The rope around his neck twisted until it looked like a hoop and it pulled tight on his throat. He gasped for breath as the cord strangled him. He tried to claw it away but to no avail._

_ He noticed a pale blue light appearing from what seemed the edge of whatever it was he was in. _

_ He looked at it, hoping it was help._

_ The light entered the room, which as it turned out, was nothing more than a dank pipe. The light bounced off of the metal that adorned the arm of the person who carried it. Roy's eyes widened._

_**Fullmetal!?**_

_ But he froze. The person was laughing. He lifted his head and instead of Edward's face, the emerald eyes of Roy's torturer flashed against the blue light. _

_ He cackled as Mustang struggled to get away from the terrifying creature. He stepped closer, changing his arm into a sharp metal blade. The light grew stronger and it illuminated the pipe. Roy couldn't help but scream as he realized it was filled with corpses and blood. _

_ It was blood that was spilling onto him from above. _

_ He looked up as the beast lunged at him with the blade, his laughter echoing in the tunnels._

_ And he screamed as blood poured from his once human face onto his own._

_ And the sound of ripping flesh reverberated in the tunnel as the metal pierced heart…._

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" Edward struggled against the strength of the chimera on the bed. It jumped and squirmed under his grip. "Grr… Colonel! C'mon calm down! It's just a dream! Colonel!" The creature still screamed and fought against Ed's attempts to keep it still. Edward felt his worry bubble into anger and finally into frustration and he snapped.

"ROY MUSTANG, WAKE UP, DAMN IT!"

And the chimera's eyes shot open and it gasped.

It stared up at the ceiling, a tear falling from its eye. It blinked and glanced around itself, shaking as he registered nothing in the room was familiar. He felt a weight on his wings as though someone were fighting him and he growled out of instinct to fight.

Edward jumped back as Roy roared in his face, the chimera's once calm mask now contorted in a terrifying snarl. He raised his automail arm up to shield himself. He swallowed as the creature fell out of the bed and stood, ready to attack.

"Colonel, it's me, Edward! Calm down! You're safe here, I promise! You were having a bad dream I swear. Look at me! Remember? I set you free from those ropes?" Edward watched as Roy's face faded from a look of fury to one of shock and then into anguish. He fell to his knees and buried his head in his hands (or lack thereof).

Edward rested his hand on his shoulder and he smiled as Roy looked up at his face, tears streaming down his face. "Hey, it's okay, I know you didn't mean it." Roy choked and he thrust his head into the boy's chest and cried silently. Edward brushed back the chimera's hair and he hugged the beast. He rubbed its back as it sobbed silently into Ed's shirt. The teen closed his eyes and shushed the chimera. "It's okay, now, ssh… There… It's okay, Mustang… Ssh… You're okay…" The chimera calmed only a little. He buried his head deeper into Edward's shirt, his tears soaking it. The teen sighed and hugged it tighter; trying to assure Roy he was safe.

The beast looked up from his temporary shield and he smiled against the tears. Edward smiled back and wrapped his arms around the man's shoulders. The chimera blinked and he scoffed quietly as he returned the action with his own wings.

He shut his eyes and now cried tears of joy at Edward's words.

"Welcome home, Colonel Mustang."


	5. Chapter 5

Ch.5

Edward pulled away from the chimera and wiped away the tears that were now drying against its face. "There… See? You're okay…" He spoke with a smile and he pat the creature's shoulder.

Roy looked up at Edward and smiled softly. He had so many things he wanted to say to him! Oh, so many things to talk about… But he couldn't. He literally couldn't. He started to stand up but he almost fell. Edward was now helping steady him on his feet and could feel himself flush slightly.

_Oh, this is embarrassing… I'm his commanding officer… And now I'm nothing more than an off balanced animal. Ed's probably just helping me out of pity… Not that I can blame the kid, I'm sure I look absolutely pathetic right now…_

Edward rested his hand on his hips and looked his boss up and down. He cocked his head slightly to the right as he studied him. He took a step back and now turned his head down to the left. He smirked.

"Well, you're not exactly the 'shortest of your rank' now, huh, Mustang?" Roy raised a brow. _What he going on about now? _Edward laughed awkwardly at the lack of a response. He coughed into his hand and tried something different.

"So, uh, how long exactly have you… Been… Ya know…?" he motioned to Roy's whole body and he bit his lip as he realized it came out a tad heartless. "Uh! W-what I mean is… Uh…" He slapped his face and sat down on the bed. "Sorry… I just don't know how to ask you…"

Roy tilted his head and he made a sort of chirping sound. He leaned in toward Ed's face and chirped again. The boy looked up and stared at the chimera's face. It smiled and pulled back and moved its head in a strange motion that Ed understood.

'_Go ahead, ask again. I'm listening.'_

Edward sighed and he asked again, but with different words.

"How… How long have you been a chimera?"

Roy twitched and looked down at the floor. _Oh, that's what he's asking… _He looked back up at the boy and shook his head. _Sorry, I'd tell you if I could talk, but I can't… _"What's wrong, Colonel?" Edward leaned on his thighs and raised a brow. "Do you not want to talk about it? Which you know is perfectly fine! I understand! You know that I get nervous if asked about my automail, so if you don't wanna-" he was cut off though by Roy. Edward sat up quickly as a loud crackled sort of bark came from the chimera's mouth.

_There, see? I can't talk. Now ask me something I can answer with a nod or frown, pipsqueak._

Edward blinked slowly before it sank in. "What… Can you not…?" Roy shook his head and heaved his breath. Edward almost raised a hand to his mouth but he stopped before he did. He had to be sure…

"Say my name."

Roy squeaked in surprise. He coughed quietly. Well, this was certainly going to be interesting…

"SRAAAAAAAKERCOOOOOOOOOKAAWAWK." Roy closed his mouth. The two stared at each other in silence… A very long, awkward silence. Roy's head harshly fell as he groaned.

_That was embarrassing. _

He looked up at Edward who was quite literally at a loss for words. Roy would've laughed if it were a less depressing matter. Edward leaned back and pulled his bangs over the top of his head as he tried to find the words to say. "Well… I… Don't know what to say…" He scoffed, and his eyes were wide.

Roy chuckled but just barely. The boy looked upon the man and his brows met as he grew concerned. "Were you being for real with that? Or were you just screwing around?" Roy shook his head and gave a cooing sound that resembled a gargling pigeon. Edward wrapped his hand around Roy's chin and he pulled his face closer.

"Can you really not talk at all?" Roy shook his head. _ Okay, a little close for comfort there, Ed! _He got squirmy and he pulled away from the boy's grip. He rubbed his chin with the top of his wing as he looked at the teen. Ed scratched the back of his neck and closed his eyes. They sat in silence for a few clicks of the clock in the room.

"Sorry."

"Maaroo?" Roy cocked his head. _What are you saying sorry for?_

Edward looked at the floor and his face became shadowed by his bangs. "If I had known I wouldn't have asked you to do that. I know it bothered you…" Roy chirped and shook his head_. Hey! Don't get all depressed on me now, Fullmetal. That's MY job. _He leaned forward and nudged Ed's hand with his forehead. He smiled to try and cheer Ed up.

Ed rested a hand on the chimera's head, scruffing up the hair atop his head. Roy protested but stayed under Ed's hand. "Sorry, Mustang." Ed smiled sadly and he flopped down on his back. "So, you can't talk, so that's one thing… Oh!" He looked over his chest at the chimera who was now standing in front of him. "Do you know what kinds of foods you can eat? So we know whether or not something might… Ya know… Disagree?"

Roy felt a little bead of sweat form on his forehead. He shook his head and looked away quickly. Edward raised a brow. "How do you not know? How can you NOT know?" Roy fluffed his neck's feathers and his face got more hidden from the teen as he tried to avoid the question.

Edward stared at him with very clear confusion. But then his eyes widened and he scooted off of the bed and stood next to the tall chimera. He pushed his hand into the messy feathers that coated Roy's body and it was at least two inches from the feathers until he met skin. Roy jumped at the contact and pulled away from the unexpected action with a yelp.

_What are doing?! Warn me first, jeez!_

Edward looked at Roy's face and he frowned. "Have you not eaten anything since you went 'missing'?" Roy frowned as well and he shook his head. Edward gasped and he pulled Roy's hair down to be eye level.

_OW! Fullmetal, let go! That hurts! That's my hair, damnit! Ow!_

Ed loosened his grip at the whimpering that was coming from the colonel, but he kept him eye level. He got up close to Roy's face and stared into his eyes. Roy blinked in confusion.

"Show me your teeth."

Roy's eyes shot open and jaw tightened in shock. He tried to pull away, but Ed's grip was firm on his hair. _NO. NO. NO. NO. NO. I DON'T LIKE YOU LIKE THAT. NO. NO. NO. NO. NO. _

"Colonel, quite being a baby and just show me your teeth! We need to know what you can eat!" Edward almost yelled, but it was loud enough for them to not hear the sounds of footfalls outside.

_…Oh. Oh, THAT'S what you meant… Right… God, I'm dumb._

Roy quit fighting against Ed's Armstrong grip and he opened his mouth. Ed let go of his hair and he poked his automail fingers into Roy's mouth, using his left hand to pull back his cheek.

"MMMMERF ACKOOOOOOOOORAAAAAEEEEECHAAH!" Roy squawked in surprise. He tried to avoid saliva falling from his cheek to his best ability, but a small drizzle still fell_. Damn it._

Ed opened his mouth wider and he looked all over the inside. He poked the back teeth which still seemed very human, if only sharper. He looked down and saw Roy's tongue and he stared. He grabbed the muscle with his hand and pulled it outward. Just then Hawkeye opened the door quickly.

"Edward! Are you all right!? We heard a roar and… What… What are you doing?"

She gawked at the sight before her.

Edward and Roy were facing her. Ed's face was blank but Roy looked completely embarrassed. He tried to pull away to close his mouth, but Ed's automail fingers were like a vice and he couldn't budge. Hawkeye raised a brow.

"… Oh! I'm trying to see what Mustang can eat. But look at his tongue! It's freaking FORKED! Is that not AWESOME!?" Roy turned back to Ed and gave him a confused look of surprise.

"EEEEEEEEH?" he voiced, his drool dripping from the motion of his jaw.

Edward grinned madly. "Yeah! You're like a… A snake! Or a really badass dragon! It's awesome!" Ed grabbed Roy's tongue with both hands and moved the points toward and away from each other. "This is just awesome! How could I not see this before? Do you have a heightened sense of smell or taste from this? Do you smell with your tongue like a lizard, since you know, you don't have a nose? Or is it the same as your old tongue where nothing is really different? Do you even smell? What's it feel li-"

"EDWARD!" Hawkeye's voice echoed in the room. Edward whipped his head back to her and saw she was rather annoyed. "What?" She hung her head slightly with a frown and pointed to the colonel. He looked at Roy and saw he was getting a very harsh glare. "W… What's wrong, Mustang?" Roy gave an 'ahem' and looked down to his tongue.

Edward's fingers were squashing the muscle flat and the slightly grey tongue was reddened in the area of pressure. He stared at it for a moment before it registered. "OH CRAP!" He let go of it as though it were toxic and it fell down against Roy's chin.

_ ...__**Thank you.**__ God, it took you long enough. Man, that hurt. Ugh… It's numb? That's weird._

Roy pulled his tongue back, but left it out slightly to let it try and cool off from the blood that was now flushed there. Edward wiped his hands on his pants. "Sorry! I guess I wasn't paying attention! Heh, sorry, Mustang!" he chuckled nervously. _He really sucks at apologizing… Maybe that's why he never does…_

Roy gave a "hmph" and turned away, moving his tongue to assure there was no damage done. "So, as I was asking before… THAT… What was with the roaring earlier?" Hawkeye asked, her arms crossing. Edward looked back to Roy who now had a solemn expression. "Oh, uh, nothing, just a little spooked waking up. It's fine though, really! Don't worry about it…"

Roy glanced over at Ed and started a tiny squint.

_But I almost attacked you… And you're okay with that? Have you no sense?!_

Edward looked at Mustang who flinched when their eyes met. The teen smiled and looked back to the lieutenant. "By the way, what all do we have to eat here? We need to get Mustang fattened up!"

_WHAT!? DON'T PHRASE IT LIKE THAT—IT SOUNDS LIKE I'M A CHICKEN!_

Edward ignored the angry barking. "We don't wanna give him too much at once, but he definitely needs some meat and greens, and maybe some calcium too… We got anything here we could scrounge up for him?" Hawkeye brought her finger up to her chin and thought for a moment.

"Well, there is the garden in the back, and the kitchen's meat locker… Oh! And the green house past the garden. I'm sure we already have some things in the kitchen but I'm not sure. I'll go check for you." Edward smiled. "Thanks, lieutenant." She turned back around and smirked.

"But you know… Colonel Mustang's going to need a bath before he comes downstairs. The medics cleaned him up medically, but not physically. That can be your job." She quickly left the room as the two alchemists chimed a shocked exclamation at her statement. She smiled sneakily as she went down the stairs.

Edward and Roy stared at the empty doorway in silence. Edward slowly looked back to Roy and he realized that the chimera did indeed look very rough and in need of a wash. He grinned nervously and scoffed out of the awkward silence. Roy locked his eyes on Ed and his feathers slowly rose from being uncomfortable. He swallowed and Ed knitted his brows.

_There is no way in hell you are giving me a bath._

"Well, I suppose she has a point_." NO._ "I mean… You don't want to look like a mess, right?" _OH,_ _NO YOU DON'T_. "So… I guess I'll go get some stuff and we can get you cleaned up, okay_?" NO. NOT OKAY. NO, DON'T DO THIS TO ME, EDWARD. I CAN BATHE MYSELF (well not really with these talons…) BUT PLEASE NO._

"You stay here while I get some soap from one of the guys, all right?" Edward started out the door waving behind him. He left a very bewildered Roy behind in the room as he shut the door. Roy stared at the door until it hit him.

_No! Edward! Open the door! I can't! Edward! Fullmetal, open this door! _

He clawed at the handle, but only scratched it up with his claws. He hissed at his talons and looked around for an escape. There was only a window, but it was partially blocked by a vanity and he quickly deduced that he couldn't move it without someone coming up to check on him. He decided to flutter up to the top of the cabinet-closet and wait for Edward to come back and then he would escape.

He knew he was being stupid. It was just a bath! Hell, he knew he should WANT one considering his life in the last week. Being treated like an animal for over a week was not good for one's sanity or state of being. But that meant instincts from the other animals inside him grew with every passing hour. Now that he was suddenly back in the human environment, the world was very different and a bath seemed like the most terrifying thing in the world.

And besides...

It's not like his feathers were clothes over him.

He was literally in the nude.

And just the thought of Fullmetal giving him a bath was embarrassing in itself without even counting that he was basically an unwilling nudist. He blushed. He hadn't thought of that till just then. His feathers poofed up as the blood met his face, and he tried to shake the thoughts away.

But oh, having a human mind in an animal's body was so awkward!

He heard footsteps coming up the stairs and he shook his feathers back down and he prepared himself. He heard metal click against the handle. It was Fullmetal, and Roy could smell it… Yeah, Ed was right about the smelling with his tongue thing. But as the knob turned, it froze in place. Roy's body tensed even more as he waited for the pipsqueak to enter the room and offer an open door.

He heard a crackling sound that sent literal shivers down his spine.

Edward was transmuting something.

Normally, this wouldn't have bothered Roy, but now, as a chimera, that sound was the sound of the reaper's laugh. He trembled and backed away into the wall and ceiling as the door started to open. Edward walked in and quickly shut the door. "I know you were trying to get out, Mustang… Mustang? Hey, where are you!?"

Edward looked over the room and his pulse quickened. He set the soap and towels down on the floor as he looked for his boss. "Colonel?" He heard a soft scraping sound and he looked behind him. When he saw nothing he looks up and saw Roy staying on top of the closet.

"What on Earth are you doing?" He walked up to the closet and rested his hands on his hips. Roy was still trembling if only barely. He cowered a little and pushed himself farther away. "Mustang. Just get down and let's get this over with! You're being way too dramatic about this." Roy frowned and slowly slid himself off of the closet. He looked pitifully back up at Edward.

"Yeah, no, puppy dog eyes don't work on me, colonel." Edward grabbed the soap and towels and headed to the bathroom to draw the bath. Roy looked to the door nervously. What was it Ed had transmuted? He looked all over the door but the only thing he saw was the scratched knob. He heard water splash into the tub and heard Edward set the room up.

_Why is it that the world has to hate me so?_

Edward walked back into the room and he took off his top shirt, leaving only his tank top. "Okay, colonel, let's get this over with, okay?" He laid the shirt on the bed and he headed to the bathroom doorway. He extended his hand to motion for the chimera to enter.

Roy growled and he slumped his shoulders_. I'm not going in there._ Edward frowned and whirled his arm in a circle to motion Roy to enter again_. I'm NOT going in there_. Edward's fists clenched and he jabbed his pointer finger inside and felt his face get red from frustration.

_I'm not going in there—you can't make me._

Edward bared his teeth and pulled at his hair before he ran and grabbed Roy's shoulders. He dragged a very loud, squawking Roy into the bathroom and he shut the door before he could escape. "There! Nowhere for you to go besides there!" Edward stared down the chimera while nodding to the drawn bath. _I hate you so much, Edward._ "Go on, get in. The sooner you work with me on this, the sooner we're done with this and you don't have to deal with this again for a while."

_I __**freaking hate**__ you so much, Edward._

"Go on! Hurry up or else you'll be sitting in cold water, which isn't exactly pleasant as you know." Edward turned to the mirror and rolled his eyes before checking his teeth for whatever reason.

_Ugh… This is so humiliating… If you ever—EVER—mention this to anyone else, you are a dead man._

Roy leaned in close to the water and looked back and forth between Ed and the bath. Edward raised his eyebrows with a smug smile and waved for him to enter. Roy turned away and sneered. He looked at the water and swallowed loudly and he shut his eyes tight before stepping in.

Edward quickly reached down to help steady the chimera as its sharp talons slipped and splashed water in the tub. He just barely saved Roy a painful lump on the head as he caught him before he hit the rim of the tub. "I guess those feet are better for trees or rough ground, huh? Wish you told me that…" Edward helped Roy ease down into the water. _Trust me, kid, if I knew that I would've… Well… Would've tried to… Good GOD this is awkward!_

Roy's feathers fluffed as he tried to sit in a comfortable yet shielded position. This, as it turned out, was no easy feat. He finally ended up sitting cross-legged with his tail in his lap after he got a long rant from Edward who used his ever colorful vocabulary to show his annoyance with the fidgeting. Roy squeaked in shock as water from a bucket was poured over his head and ran down his back and chest. He looked to Edward who was holding back a laugh.

"I'm sorry! But… I can't say I've ever seen you with your hair wet… It just sticks to your face…! You look like hippie in the rain! Ha ha ha ha ha!" Roy scowled as water dripped from his bangs. He knew his hair was longer, and all of his feathers made for a rather shaggy appearance, but a hippie? Could the kid not find any other term? He felt water creep uncomfortably down his ear and he tried to shake it off. He stopped as Ed yelped in surprise.

_Payback's a jerk, ain't it, Ed?_

Edward sighed and filled another bucket before dumping it on Roy again. "Lean back." Roy glanced back with a raised eyebrow. Edward growled and cupped his hands around Roy's forehead and he pulled the man's head back to the point where their eyes met. _What the hell, Ed!?_ Edward's eyes widened. "Does this hurt you?" Roy shook his head. It didn't, but why would it? His neck was at least twice the length now, so it could swivel and bend more than the human neck was capable. Ed nodded and he moved his hands away. "Okay, well, stay like that. Don't move forward."

He grabbed the soap and began scrubbing it into Roy's scalp. He ignored the childish groans and whimpers coming from Roy as he worked. He looked into Roy's eyes and he scoffed. "Are you crying again, or is it the water?" Roy growled, showing his teeth more. Edward laughed and went back to washing the chimera's hair. He rinsed it out and he pushed Roy's head forward as he could avoid the beast's eyes more easily now. He scrubbed at the back of his neck, carefully scrubbing around the area where he had been in a noose. He rinsed the soap away and he stopped for a moment to grab a small wash cloth.

He dabbed it with water and gently cleaned the injured area. Roy blinked in surprise. Where he had been roped didn't necessarily hurt, but Ed sure was being sensitive and caring about it. This startled Roy as the boy had, in recent memory, been very normal (aside from when Roy had scared the living hell out of him). But right now it was like he was being a totally different person. Roy looked to his right and saw that Ed's automail was actually not the arm he was using.

He felt Ed run his fingers carefully over Roy's skin, wiping away any soap that may have gotten close to the flesh. Roy decided that since Edward was being so careful and focused, he should ruin the moment. He didn't know why. Maybe it was just instinct for the mutt to want to shake away the contact.

Edward hissed through his clenched teeth as Roy shook his head and neck, and he pulled away quickly so that his hand wouldn't hit his neck. "Are you nuts!? What are you doing!?" Roy turned his head around and he grinned evilly. His grin faded to a nervous smile. Then to a frown.

_Fullmetal is definitely unimpressed…_

Edward folded his arms and glared at the chimera. He shrugged. "Well, fine, since we're stopped right now, why don't you turn around for me? We need to wash the front of you anyway."

Roy whipped his head back and stared wide-eyed at the tiles. _ Oh God, no, no, no, no, oh I can't… _Edward tapped him on the shoulder, causing the creature to jump and his feathers flare from surprise. "Yo, turn around." Roy put his best pouting face on and he slowly turned back to the teen. His eyes were open wide and his jaw quivered like a lip.

Edward remained unfazed.

Roy growled and he shuffled to face the boy. Does nothing work on this kid!? He fwipped his tail in front of his pelvis and he stared awkwardly to the faucet next to him. Edward raised a brow and reached for the soap. "Why are you so jumpy and nervous, Mustang?" He pointed to Roy's tail while keeping his gaze on the man's face.

"Is it because you're naked?"

Roy's face almost instantly turned red, and despite the weight of the water on them, his feathers flared up like a spring. Ed stifled a giggle but he couldn't contain himself as he broke out into full-fledged cackling. He fell onto his back and he gripped at his middle as he laughed himself to tears. Roy's feathers flattened with anger at the boy's reaction to his discomfort. He leaned his head over the edge of the bathtub and glared at the laughing boy.

_You really are a jerky brat, you know?_

Edward sat back up and he wiped away the tears with his flesh arm. "Oh… Oh, I wish you could've seen your face just then! You were absolutely hilarious! Blood red! Oh ho ho hoooo…" He gripped his side with pain from the strong laughter. He sat up and pat Roy's head as though he were a dog in the bath. "You're a riot, Colonel!"

_Yeah, well, next time you're taking a bath I'm just gonna embarrass the hell out of YOU. How does that sound, blondie?_

Edward smiled and began cleaning Roy's display feathers. "These are really weird, Colonel, what are they for exactly? I mean, their just like really long feathers but… Is this actually hair?" Ed held up the mass. Roy shrugged in a motion that translated to a universal 'I dunno.' Ed continued washing it and he held it up to wash the chimera's chest.

Roy couldn't even bring himself to look at the teen. "What's wrong? You embarrassed?" Ed smirked. Mustang glared at the ceiling and snarled. _Yeah, I'm totally not embarrassed, I just naturally look like a tomato._

Edward scrubbed in silence and Roy avoided looking in Ed's general direction. Edward finished after rinsing him off and he sat with his hands on his knees as the two sat in deafening silence. "So uh… You need me to uh… Wash your tail?"

Roy snapped at the boy and growled.

"Okay! Okay! Sheesh… Well, then we're done." Edward stood up and pulled the plug. He turned around and grabbed the pile of towels and set one in front of the tub. "Okay, pretty boy, out you go." He grabbed Roy by the unders of his wings and helped him out of the slippery tub. Of course, the chimera's face showed the slightest hint of anger as the teen helped him out.

Ed sat him down on the towel and he threw another one on his head. "Okay, stay still." He began scrubbing Roy's head with the towel. Roy squirmed under Ed's hands as his hair and feathers became messy and dried_. I am not a little child, you don't need to dry my hair like I am one!_ Edward pulled the towel away from his face and began drying the hair around his face.

"Hey… Are these your ears?" Edward pulled on the two tiny flaps of skin behind Roy's face and laughed as the chimera winced. "They're so tiny! They're like little mousey ears!" Edward giggled as the chimera snarled and pulled away, shaking water everywhere as it tried to get rid of the feeling of tugged-on ears.

Edward continued drying the colonel's feathers and he continued using new towels as they kept getting soaked. Roy sighed. He closed his eyes as he let Edward dry him off.

_I'm just glad it's Ed doing this and not someone else. Otherwise, I'd never be able to take myself seriously again…_


	6. Chapter 6

Ch.6

"Now then, now that we're done with that, here comes the easy part." Edward walked back out into the bedroom, leaving a very confused Roy behind to slowly wonder into the room as well. Edward lifted his suitcase onto the bed and undid the clasp. Roy gazed in silent surprise as he saw how empty Ed's suitcase was.

There were only a few pairs of underwear, an extra pair of pants, some sandals, toothbrush, hairbrush, his journal, and parchment with pens. Roy blinked at the mostly empty case. Of course, the boys had no home to speak of, meaning that they didn't have very many personal belongings. Still, Roy had expected more than this. Edward grabbed the brush and the shut the case. He walked back toward Roy and he motioned for him to sit on the floor in front of the bed.

Roy raised an eyebrow, but he knew now that arguing would get him nowhere. Literally—as he couldn't argue well with the boy without his voice. He settled down in front of the bed and grinded his teeth out of boredom. He listened as Ed got on the bed behind him and he grabbed the Colonel's forehead, gently pulling him back slightly.

Roy's eyes shot open as the brush ran across his hair. All of his feathers stood on end. _What… What am I doing? I'm not… Why is my body reacting on its own!?_ Roy felt a tickle in his throat and he jumped. He shook himself from Ed's grasp, his breath quick and slightly shuddered. _No… I'm not an animal! I don't care how badly these instincts are; I am not—!_

"Uh… Mustang? You okay?" Edward had his head tilted and sat, loosely swinging the brush around in his hand. Roy blinked rapidly. He shook his head, the now neat bangs getting messy again. Edward huffed a sigh of annoyance. "You know, it's okay to get help from people. Pride isn't everything. Coming from me, you know I'm being serious." Edward smirked. Roy shook his head again and the grin disappeared.

"Is it something else, then?" Roy nodded and he coughed slightly into his feathered wrist. His tail twitched back and forth, as though being forced not to. Edward looked from it back to Roy and noticed the concentration Roy was having even though there was nothing to focus on.

"Are you trying to control the animal side?"

Roy squawked in surprise and immediately buried his face in his wings. He hadn't meant to make a single sound at all. He tried to hide his face behind his feathers as he silently snarled and bit at the invisible animals who tried to command him. He heard their thoughts in his head. He didn't know how but he could understand them, despite the intelligence and language barriers…

_Petting. Master petting. Master good. Master nice. Love master. Petting nice. Love petting._

_The naked skin is small, weak, bigger than self, but not strong. Could eat once dead. Not a problem, and half of it is shiny. Self like shiny. Shiny gets good mate and makes good offspring._

_Too big to hunt. Loud, but not annoying. Nice to me. Me like too-big-to-hunt thing. Hair like eagle pelt. Shiny. Strong. Too-big-to-hunt like eagle. Eagle scary. But too-big-to-hunt is nice eagle._

_… Hungry. Need eat. Empty. Hungry. _

_**SHUT UP, WILL YOU!? ALL OF YOU, SHUT UP! I DON'T CARE WHAT YOU THINK OF EDWARD.**_

_Ed…Word…? What Ed-Word? Bad word? Good word? Ed-Word pets, so Ed-Word good word!_

_Self still does not understand how other addresses skinned one. What is the importance of this term 'Edward' and why does it matter? Self is confused, but could care less._

_Too-big-to-hunt has species that isn't eagle? Edward is a species? Looks human…_

_Hungry… Eat something… See no bugs… Hungry…_

Roy snarled, though verbally this time, and he heard Ed gasp quietly at the sudden action. He turned to the teen, and Roy's face was covered in a veil of horror and sorrow as he looked at the boy. Edward frowned and leaned forward to try and calm the chimera from whatever he was fighting inside of him. The man shook under the boy's hand, struggling between leaning into the hold or pulling away.

"I can't begin to imagine how much having animal instincts must suck…" Roy turned to the boy. He scoffed warmly and he shut his eyes. All of the animals inside were growling, hissing, and barking at the comment. Since one of the animals was Roy and could understand human speech, they could too.

They weren't exactly pleased with the idea that their instincts 'sucked.'

Roy smiled once they quieted down… Well, all except the _Hungry… _But the poor thing was so naturally at a disadvantage with its tiny intelligence. It never thought much else, if anything at all. Roy felt the urge to shake, though this instinct was accepted, and he did so. Edward pulled his hand back as Roy's feathers blurred in front of him.

"So… Do you always act on those instincts, or do you choose them?" Roy nodded. He smiled graciously_. I'm glad Edward came here… At least someone has an idea of what's going on with me… Any other soldier wouldn't have a chance at figuring it out. _

Edward brought the brush back and rested it still on Roy's head. "Well, if you're having trouble with instincts, just let them loose. I won't care. I know you're still in there whether or not you're acting like yourself." Roy let a look of worry flash on his face, but Ed grabbed his chin and shook it gently. "Hey, don't worry about it, okay? Like I said, I won't care. I know it must be hard keeping those things inside you in check. All that effort and brain work must be wearing you out. You could all of a sudden stop to rest and then BAM! They'd be in control and doing something you might not agree with."

Roy narrowed his brows. Edward was right. That was why he had snapped at him that morning. All of the animals were in fight or flight mode from the nightmare—of which none of them had ever had before they were part of a human mind. No dream had ever felt so real before, and they had acted like it was real. Once they awoke (all but Roy) they all tried to rid themselves of the monster that had murdered them in that pipe.

If what Edward was saying could actually happen, then who knows what Roy would be blamed for doing? He shuddered at the thought as the Self imagined Edward's corpse. Roy could see the image of pecking the eyes out and tearing at the bloody flesh. He blinked back the mental image.

He would never do that.

_But would the animals?_

"Hey. Colonel Bastard. Hello? You're getting a little too cuddly."

Roy snapped back to reality, and he realized that his face was up against Ed's chest. He yanked himself away from the teen and he whimpered as he shook himself. _When did that happen!? I wasn't… Oh great. __**WAY TO GO, GUYS, THANKS A LOT.**_

All the animals gave a feeling of either regret or smug attitude.

Well, except Hungry... He felt nothing except hunger.

Edward fixed his bunched up shirt and he clicked his tongue. Roy turned around slowly, his eyes looking droopy. "Hey… You okay?" Roy shook his head. Ed went back to brushing the feathers and hair back to a more 'formal' fashion. Roy felt the bristles scratch across his skin and tiny waves of joy and pleasure echoed in his body. He felt Word get excited and Me took pleasure from it as well, though noticeably more lax.

_Stupid… Animals… And your… Freaking… Petting… Fetish…!_

Roy felt his throat tickle and he heard a soft, chirping purr escape his mouth. His tail slowly wagged across the floor. He tried to fight the urge of the animals, but instinct, as nature intended, is stronger than the mind. He eased into Ed's brushing and he purred louder. He looked up as Ed with apologetic eyes.

Ed chuckled. "Hey, at least you aren't jumping on me like a dog would! But I guess you're part cat judging from the purring thing you're doing." Edward grinned sarcastically. Roy gained enough power to shake his head in response. "Wait… Are you not?" Roy shook his head again before the animals decided to rub his cheek across Ed's flesh hand.

_Oh, this is so wrong on so many levels._

Edward sighed with a smile and he proceeded to pet the chimera's head and neck. He tried so hard to keep himself from laughing at Roy's face. He seemed to be fighting an inner war again, though now it seemed to be 'enjoy the petting' or 'oh my God, just kill me now this is so wrong.' The chimera opened his eyes and looked apologetically at the boy.

"Oh shut up, you're not doing anything wrong... So you like getting some attention, huh, puppy dog?" Edward put the brush down and he scratched madly behind Roy's head. A loud chirp and a poofing of feathers showed Ed that he had definitely hit a soft spot. "Oh, is that where you like it? Little attention whore…"

Roy closed his eyes.

_Okay… Maybe these animals are onto something… This… Is… Oh, it's nice…!_

Roy gave up trying to fight the instinct and he gave in to Ed's petting, cooing at the feeling of fingers scratching at his neck. He heard Edward laugh awkwardly as he felt himself move further into Ed's hands. "O-okay, Mr. Casanova, snap out of it. No more."

The animals controlled Roy's voice and gave a whimper, much to Roy's embarrassment. He certainly was getting embarrassed often. He couldn't help it, though. After all, being stuck with animals fused to your mind for over a week and suddenly having to try and regain your composure for people around you… It wasn't easy.

Ed frowned at the whimper. "I said no." He tapped the brush on Roy's head and a soft chirp showed it hit home. Roy shook his head and blinked rapidly. He looked back to the boy and smiled nervously. "So was that you or the animal?" Roy shrugged and looked at a piece of wallpaper that he pretended was the most intriguing thing he'd ever seen.

"What do you mean 'dunno'? Was it both?" Roy shrugged again, but noticeably more protective. Edward groaned and stood up. "Okay, well, aside from your tail you're all ready to go. Just so we're clear, YOU are taking care of the tail." Roy raised a brow_. Not that I care, but why is that?_

Edward turned to the door and put his hand on the knob, a tiny squeak coming from the automail. "Well, hurry up!" Roy barked in surprise and he quickly shook his tail out and brushed through it with his talons. Edward was opening the door when he finished and he motioned for him to follow.

"Okay, Colonel, here's the deal. These soldiers here… They aren't exactly… Erm… Thrilled. With the idea of you being… You know. I guess what I'm trying to say is around them, you DO need to keep those instincts in check, and you also need to ignore whatever you hear from them that isn't official business." Roy followed Edward down the stairs, using his wings as slight balancing weights as he hadn't used stairs in his recently new body. He got to the bottom step before pausing. He looked up at Ed and gave a confused sort of cooing sound. The blonde turned around and he rested his hands on his hips and sighed.

"They aren't exactly quick on keeping opinions to themselves and will say things without realizing how heavy their words actually are. Considering most here aren't fond of chimeras in general… And I know for a fact some here aren't fond of you as a person… So just try and keep your cool and uh…" he trailed off. "I dunno. Just try and act as much like your old self as possible and ignore their comments. If any of them get really offensive or hurtful, let me know so I can whip'em into shape."

Roy tilted his head at the comment.

"Oh yeah. I guess you don't know huh? I'm the boss here and I'm actually head of commanding these guys in town."

Edward laughed as Roy's jaw dropped. If it weren't attached to his body, it'd be on the floor. "Yeah, I know! Me, Edward Elric, 15, ordering around a bunch of soldiers! But I guess I was next in command under yours so…" Ed began walking toward the dining hall. The chimera smirked_. He really knows how to take charge when push comes to shove…_

The two walked down a hallway. On the walls hung ornate paintings and many tiny tables held vases of flowers and spices. On the wall a few paces before the dining hall entrance hung a long, portrait-styled mirror that stood taller than Roy by a foot. Edward passed by without looking at it even for a moment, but he stopped when he heard silence behind him. He turned around and saw Roy staring blankly at the reflective glass.

"What's wrong?"

Roy blinked rapidly and he stepped backwards, his knees starting to wobble. Edward's heart tugged at him hard as he realized the horror Roy was experiencing. "H-hey! Hey it's okay! Colonel, it's okay. Don't worry about it, all right? Have you not… Seen yourself in a while?"

Roy whimpered and Ed could swear he heard a whispered word under the chimera's breath, but it was too faint to identify. He held his face in his hands, trying to bring his focus away from the mirror. Roy barked at the touch and he pulled in on himself and he shielded himself on pure reflex. His feathers bristled, making a low hum as he tried to protect himself from the non-existent threat.

Edward bit his lip. "Mustang… Hey. There's nothing to be scared of here. Relax. Ssh… Ssh…" Edward stroked the hair atop Roy's head as the creature calmed. It looked up from behind its hair and wings and it clenched its jaw tight. Edward smiled. "There. You're safe, and you have nothing to worry about."

_But I'm a monster!_

"See? Nothing here can hurt you, Colonel."

_Look at me! I'm hideous! Awful! A murderous creature!_

"Now, don't worry about how you look because I certainly don't."

_How are you so BLIND!? I'm a MONSTER! __**A MONSTER!**_

Edward ruffled Roy's hair, unintentionally ignoring Roy's inner grievance. "C'mon! We've got to find you something to eat. And like I said, just act like your old self, ignore the soldiers' words or looks, and just relax. You're safe with me." Edward smiled and grabbed Roy's wing just around what seemed to be the thumb. He began to pull Roy behind him as he tried to get the chimera to follow, but its gaze was still locked depressingly on the mirror and his reflection.

"Hey, Bastard, focus. Come on, the dining hall is in here." Roy slowly peeled his eyes off of his reflection. His new face haunted his mind. He knew he had different anatomy, and that he didn't look too human anymore, but he hadn't expected to be so…

So scary.

He carefully followed the teen, cowering his head as too try and hide himself; despite the fact that he knew he was a huge black-feathered creature with massive wings and a long tail. He cursed inwardly and the animals inside him felt his sadness and anguish. Word tried to comfort him but he only fluffed his feathers to hide himself more, signaling the animal to stop trying.

The dining hall was larger than Roy had expected as he didn't know how big the hotel was. Judging from the huge sparkling chandelier hanging above a stage and piano, he quickly deduced it was larger than he had thought. He was now walking beside Edward, and he felt both the discomfort of holding his subordinate's hand and the kindness of a warm hand that he hadn't felt in what seemed like forever. He slowly wrapped his clawed finger around the hand, gently, softly, and he hooked the claw around the edge of the hand like a cup handle. Edward looked over and saw the chimera looking away from him, avoiding his gaze. Edward turned back toward the kitchen where he heard the clatter of tableware being made. He carefully squeezed Roy's talon back, and he pet it with his thumb.

To anyone else, this would seem very strange, as it really was. But Riza wasn't the only one who had a secret language with Roy. Edward and his boss never really vocalized their true conversations, but they did communicate through actions. A clench of the left side of the jaw—'be careful because these guys are on another side and will use your words against you.' A scratch of the back of the neck with the right hand—'okay, I'll be careful, but if I need help you better be there and be ready for it.'

The holding of hands? That was rare. They had only used it once before and it was when Edward was alone with Roy after the Barry the Chopper case. Roy had taken Ed's hand and he did what Ed was doing now, and it communicated flawlessly between the two his silent words.

The holding of hands—'you're alive. You're alive and safe. Remember that. You're under my protection, and I will never, EVER, let you down.'

The chimera looked at the blonde and he walked a little closer next to him. He could smell the food being made in the kitchen, but the smells of cooking were almost foreign to him. In fact, he actually felt slightly sickened by the aromas. Edward pushed open the swinging door and held it open for Roy to enter.

The man slowly made his way into the kitchen, careful to avoid any flames or oils or a possibility of a mess caused by his awkwardly large tail. He looked over to where the sound of clattering dishes was being made and his feathers flared quickly before he settled them back down. Riza looked over at the two and she nodded Hello to them before closing the cabinet.

"Hello again, boys. You certainly look better, Colonel, if you don't mind my saying so." Roy would've blushed at her smile if the smells in the room weren't so overwhelming. He blinked away stinging tears from the spices and he smiled back, nodding to her as well. Edward pulled his hand away from Roy's wing and he walked over to the woman.

"So, what's cooking? Smells like curry…"

Riza wiped her bangs out of her eyes and she sighed. "It's supposed to be stew, but I messed up the ingredients and so now I have no idea what the hell it is." Edward chuckled. "Well, was it the spice?" The woman nodded.

The teen went to the icebox and pulled out a small carton of milk and grabbed a salt shaker and some cinnamon. He worked on the 'stew' and carefully checked the taste as he stirred. "There! That should do it. Just have to find an ingredient that will cancel it out without making a noticeable taste."

Roy tilted his head. He had no idea this kid could cook. Well, he did, but not actually cook for real.

_And don't you HATE milk? Why the hell did you use it then? Are you intentionally torturing yourself?_

Edward put the food items back where they belonged and he looked over at Roy. "C'mon, there should be a table out back that isn't so… fancy." Ed waved a hand for the chimera to follow and he began around a corner to the door near the back. He held it open and waited for Roy to walk through it before following suit and closing it.

Roy stood still, and his expression was completely void of emotion.

Edward pulled out the iron chair and sat down, expecting Roy to do the same, but when no such thing happened he looked over at him. "Hey, you alive over there, Colonel?" Ed joked. But no response came. "Mustang…?" The chimera slowly turned back to Ed and he looked back and forth between him and the sky. He shook his head and neck like a dog would and he headed over to the table.

"What was that about?" Edward leaned on the table with his elbows. Roy sighed and he got into the opposite chair, though he sat on his haunches. He let his wings relax and his feathers sprawled out against the concrete. His head fell against the metal table causing Edward to wince and the table to ring out in a soft hum. Roy looked over at the boy and his brows knitted together before he shook his head and looked away.

"Hey, is something bothering you still?" Roy huffed and he nodded, looking farther away from the boy. "Is it your appearance?" Roy shrugged. It was really a mix of emotions he was having right now. He wasn't the only one who was shocked by the appearance; all the other animals were terrified by the creature, but Roy was only shocked and depressed by it. When the other animals realized that it was themselves they were seeing (thanks to Roy's recognition and thoughts they heard) they all grew silent and they gave an aura of sadness.

But now it seemed they had completely forgotten the event and now instinct was screaming at Roy like a train horn put straight to the ear. They all wanted to hunt. To kill. To eat. Roy felt his blood pound in his body, adrenaline rise, and he internally moaned as his head grew more and more pain from the stress of keeping the creatures back. He glanced back at Ed and moved his head upwards in a tiny motion.

Edward looked up at the sky and back down to Roy. He turned his head, keeping his gaze on the chimera, and he raised a brow. "I don't get it, what's wrong?" Roy growled and he raised his wings and barely flapped them before lowering them back down. "Oh! OH! You wanna fly?" Ed's attention was now completely absorbed that he didn't notice Hawkeye walking outside with a tray of food for the three of them.

Roy straightened up immediately and he looked away from the woman. She set the food down in front of each of them and she settled herself down before she began eating. "Thank you for fixing my crappy food, Ed." Edward laughed after getting over the shock of realizing she was now suddenly sitting next to him. "Don't mention it, it's fine! Trust me, I'm a terrible cook!" She and him joked around as they ate.

Roy kept his head turned away from his friends and he watched them eat. It was really strange. They were so calm. They were so happy. And they acted like nothing was wrong.

Or they were avoiding the fact.

When Hawkeye and Ed finished, the lieutenant stood and grabbed her bowl and then stacked Ed's on top of hers. She started to grab Roy's, but she stopped mid-reach. "Colonel Mustang, why haven't you eaten any of it?" Edward's eyes quickly locked onto the chimera, who was now cowering slightly at the sound of his subordinate's words. Edward reached across the table and he poked Roy's head with his finger and waited for him to turn around before speaking.

"You need to eat, Colonel. You know this. So why aren't you?"

Roy frowned and he turned his head so that his face was laying against the table and it wasn't visible to either soldier. He looked through the grate at his wings and he frowned more. _Trust me, I'm starving, but I'm not resorting to eating like an animal._

"Hey. Answer me. Why aren't you eating?" Edward bit his tongue out of regret when Roy shot him a glare. "Uh… Well, I mean answer in a way you can." Roy rolled his eyes and he stared at the bowl of now lukewarm stew that lay inches from his face. He felt his insides tighten and twist from both repulsion and hunger.

He was starving. Literally starving. Had he been lacking feathers, his discolored skin and scales would be like wet paper over his bones. There was no point in trying to tell Edward or Riza the fact that his metabolism was now triple that of the average man; he had no way of doing so. The stew in front of him would last probably an hour or two before he would need to eat again.

But not eating for (what seemed three weeks) over a week had practically ruined his appetite and he felt if he ate anything it would kill him. All the animals inside him screamed and yelled for him to just bury his face into the soupy food and gobble it all in one fell swoop, and then go out to the sky and find something else to kill and eat.

He held them back, avoiding instinct as hard as he could.

It was hard holding them back, let alone when they all urged for the same action (which was very rare of them as they all had different mindsets) but he struggled anyway. He still had his dignity… What little he had.

Edward whacked him on the head with the dull side of the fork. A loud yelp escaped the chimera's mouth and he fell to the ground. His eyes were wide and empty as he tried to crawl away from the boy. Edward grabbed him on the shoulders before he could, and he shook him to force recognition.

"Hey! Hey, calm down! Look, I'm sorry, but you really do need to eat. Come on now, if anything just have one bite. Please?" Edward led the man back to the table and he tried handing the fork back to him. But when no attempt to grab it was made, the boy frowned. "Colonel. Eat." Roy looked at the fork but looked back to the ground.

Edward scowled and he yanked Roy's wing up. He forced the fork under Roy's finger and when he thought the chimera had a grasp on it he let go.

It clattered to the concrete below.

Roy wrapped his arms around himself and he turned away, looking abashed and ashamed. His claws dug into his shoulders, but he didn't care. He couldn't shower, he couldn't brush his hair, he couldn't open a door, and now he couldn't even hold a fork. He shut his eyes tight.

_'Pathetic.'_

He ignored the sound of hurried movements and the tiny clangs of the silverware against the cement. He didn't even react when he felt Ed's hands grab his shoulders, pulling his talons out of his skin before he bled. He felt a hand caress his forehead as Ed's voice mumbled words of apology in the background.

All he could focus on was keeping the animals back. Keeping the memories of his torturer back. Keeping his shame relatively unseen. Edward had asked him to act like his old self, and by God, he was going to. And being his old self meant keeping his thoughts, emotions, and pain away from the world. Being an introvert had advantages when in the military, but it was practically crap in normal life.

Guess it's a good thing I'm not normal then…

A strong shake brought him out of his mind and back to looking at his subordinate. He hadn't listened to anything Edward had just said, nor anything he had just asked of Roy. He swallowed nervously. Edward's expression changed from sadness to anguish and he brushed the fork clean and he grabbed the bowl. He picked out a piece of sauced chicken and he held out in front of Roy's face, of which had a confused expression.

"Here. I'll help you." Edward nudged the meat further in Roy's space causing him to jump back giving a face of aghast.

_Uh, HELL NO! I can eat, just leave the area for a bit! I do NOT need to be fed by hand._

Edward forced the fork into Roy's gaping mouth. A muffled bark came from a shocked Roy and Hawkeye smirked as she headed back inside. Roy pulled away with the meat in his mouth and he scowled at the boy. Edward grinned and he got more food on the fork. "Good! Now another one." Roy swallowed and growled at the boy, making sure his uncovered teeth formed a cage around his mouth. Edward frowned. "Colonel…" _No._ "Colonel." _No_. "Colonel!" _Nope._

"Mustang, you're just being childish! Just let me help you!"

_I'm only acting childish because you're treating me like one!_

"Colonel, we just wanna help you!"

_Yeah, I know, but you don't have to be so forceful about it!_

"Mustang, please! I don't want to watch you s…" Edward cut himself off and turned away. _What? Watch me WHAT, Fullmetal? Tell me_! The boy's amber eyes grew a bit pinker as he strained them against tears. He was a man. He wasn't going to cry.

"I don't want to watch you starve to death and leave us wishing we could've done something more."

Roy was speechless. And thoughtless. There grew such a silence that even the storm clouds in the distance stopped rumbling. Roy sighed and closed his eyes as he brought his brows together in defeat. He opened his mouth and he flinched when Ed put the fork on his tongue.

He couldn't bring himself to look at the teen, and he certainly didn't think he could handle it if he were still sad. It broke his heart seeing the child that way. So if being fed like a baby meant keeping the child happy, then so be it. The two sat in silence, and Edward in a confused concern as Roy didn't seem to chew the food, but rather swallow it whole. The lack of chewing metaphorically chewed a question out of the teen.

"Wouldn't it be better if you… Well… Chewed the food first before swallowing it?"

The glare that followed shut him up though.

The two continued in silence until there was one bit of food left in the bowl and Edward figured it time to lighten the mood from the darkening sky. He slowly brought the fork of chicken up near the colonel's face, of who had his eyes closed. He began to make noises out of the side of his teeth, causing the chimera to raise a brow. He kept at it until Roy finally turned toward him and opened his eyes.

"CHOO CHOO! HERE COMES THE TRAIN~" Edward grinned as the fork was twirled into the man's mouth. He pulled it away and ran inside with the bowl, laughing as he outran the chimera. He shut the door and slid to the floor laughing loudly as Roy glared through the door's window.

_Oh, you are SO dead, Fullmetal._


	7. Chapter 7

Ch.7

Roy sneered at the doorknob that had been mocking him as of late. He turned on his toes quickly and headed toward the tree that grew in the back, giving cool shade and keeping the ground around it a fairly moist but not a mudded feel. The man looked back at the door and when he saw Edward with his back towards him he jumped a few inches off the ground.

His claws caught on the bark as though they were designed to—which they probably were. He gripped his feet around the trunk of the tree and he climbed up, almost without any energy being spent. He climbed up higher past the lower branches and he stopped when he felt his little birdies screaming at him to go higher and fly away.

He sat down on the largest branch in the area, curling one leg up and wrapping his wings around it. His other leg lay relaxed in front of him and his tail hung freely off the side of the wooden arm. The wind rustled the leaves around him and Roy felt the breeze cool his skin from the hot feathers he was now trapped under. He sighed and he laid his head against the bark, closing his eyes. He heard a soft rumble from the storm that brewed a few miles over. He had grown accustomed to the sound of storms and of thunder.

Although now he smiled as it grew stronger far away…

At least he wasn't going to get near drowned by the water that had flooded the sewer he had gotten himself trapped in.

He looked over the town he was now caged in. He hadn't actually had the chance to investigate or study it or its inhabitants, which had been his mission from the very start. Shingled roofs painted red and brown lay scattered against the dirt and cobblestone streets upon the homes they shielded. Trees and vineyards decorated the hillsides and mountains that surrounded the town. A single clock tower rang out a low, dark chime that reverberated against the mountains and sounded the time to the inhabitants of the region. Birds chirped happily as they flew to Roy's tree.

They landed near him and they began to sing their songs and Roy furrowed his brows in confusion. It wasn't that animals coming near him surprised him as he was now a mixture of many of them. But it was their tweeting…

He swore he could hear words being spoken.

"Where other?"

"I am here! Where other?"

"I am here! Where mate?"

"I am here! Where mate?"

"I am here! Where other?"

Roy stared at the tiny animals as they 'talked' to one another. His eyes started watering from the strain his ears were under and he shook his head furiously, silencing the flock around him. He looked back up at the birds and realized they were all staring at him now.

Silently.

One tiny bird hopped over closer to Roy and inspected him. It stared at him for what seemed like an eternity and then it fluttered over to Roy and landed on his head. More birds flew over and rested on him, their tiny claws clutching his fur and feathers. Roy's heart beat a little louder as he tried to fight the urge to fight off the birds as part of him wanted to.

The clicking of metal on stone caused him to turn his head to see the tiny blonde alchemist staring wide-eyed at him from down on the ground.

* * *

_ Edward laughed into his hand as Roy sneered at him from outside. He glanced up at Hawkeye and felt his chest tighten as he was sweltering under her cruel stare down. He shrugged and went on to talk about the reason he shut the door on Roy._

_ "Okay, yeah, that was mean, I know. But see, I don't want him listening to this."_

_ "Listen to what?" Hawkeye inquired. Edward never really cared what the colonel heard him say so what could it possibly be?_

_ Edward crossed his arms and leaned against the door, unaware Roy was now walking away from the area. "Well… What I want to talk about is his state of mind. It's not well, you know, and I think finding out what happened to him would be a good way of helping him now." Hawkeye nodded, acknowledging Edward's suggestion. "However, it sure as hell won't be easy to do. He can't talk," Ed began counting down on his fingers, "He can't give us hand motions, he has other minds inside of him trying to take control all the time, if we ask him what happened I imagine he'd shut us out due to trauma, and I know for a fact that the other soldiers wouldn't be too keen on helping him out. So what we have now is a really tricky situation… And…" He sighed._

_ He scooted down the door slightly and cradled his head in his hands, his automail creaking as the fingers moved. "I don't know what to do…" Hawkeye wiped her hands off from the dish water. "Now, now, don't stress yourself, Fullmetal. Anybody would be at pressure if suddenly put into your position."_

_ "But I've never ordered soldiers, let alone my BOSS! And the way Mustang is right now… He…"_

_ Ed's voice cracked and he wrapped his arms around his head._

_ "What if he's like Nina? What if… I can't save him… What… If I…" _

_ Hawkeye grabbed Edward from under the arms and pulled him to his feet. She pat his face on both sides with enough force for a smack but not enough to hurt. Edward stared up at the woman, his eyes becoming slightly red. "Edward. It is tragic what happened to Nina, I am fully aware of this. But let her spirit live on as an example, as motivation, to get Colonel Mustang back to his old self."_

_ Edward pulled away and his voice rose in volume to the point where he was practically yelling. _

_ "But no time in history has a chimera ever been reverse-engineered and lived!"_

_ Riza grabbed her coat off of the rack by the door and put it on. Upon turning up the collar she said, "Well, never in history has a State Alchemist ever been a child of 12 years old. That was three years ago when history was rewritten, and by you no less. If anyone is going to rewrite history, it's you, Edward." She smiled and left, her boots clacking down the dining hall to the hallway._

_ Edward's shoulders slumped and he mumbled to himself. "Yeah, no pressure by the way, thanks a lot…" He turned around and looked out the door, expecting to see Roy loafing around somewhere in the back, figuring him to be bored out of his mind._

_ But he was nowhere to be found. Edward's heart beat faster as the realization hit him. He slowly opened the door and walked out onto the cobblestone surrounding the door. He looked left and right and when he heard a flock of birds in the tree he looked up._

* * *

"How in the HELL did you get up there, Mustang?!"

Roy groaned and banged his head back on the tree trunk, causing the birds to all fly away chirping scared cries from the sudden movement of their new roost. "Hey! Are ya going deaf, Colonel? How did you get up there? Better yet, WHY are you up there!?" Edward walked closer to the tree, his hands in his pockets.

Roy turned to Ed, stuck out his reptilian tongue and reclined further on his branch.

Edward huffed a sigh and he sat down against the base trunk of the tree, about 30 feet under Roy. The chimera glanced down and saw the boy sitting there, waiting for him to come down. He growled quietly and he jumped off of his branch. Edward's brow rose when he heard the fluttering of feathers and he looked up at Roy to see what he was up to. He quickly jumped up and shuffled backwards to avoid the chimera's landing on him.

"God, you could've warned me before you did that!"

Roy straightened up and shook himself to resettle the feathers that had been messed up from the jump. He folded his wings back and he shrugged off Ed's suggestion. _Whatever._ He looked to the boy and smirked when he saw the annoyed expression on his face_. Jeez, Fullmetal, your butt's going to be covered in dirt if you don' t get up._ He walked over and reached over Ed's head. The boy cowered slightly, unsure of what to do as the chimera bent over him.

Roy's teeth closed around Ed's shirt and he hoisted the teen off of the ground and onto his feet. He let the material loose and pulled back to shake his head, trying to get over the sensation of clothing in his mouth. He heard the boy cough awkwardly as he straightened up his shirt.

"Well, uh, thank you… I guess… Um…"

The boy glanced around the yard, scratching his jawline. "What were you doing up there? In the tree, I mean."

Roy scoffed and shrugged slowly. Both of them jumped at the sudden crack of lightning and the booming roar that accompanied it. Edward looked up at the darkening sky and he crossed his arms.

"Good God, what is with this town and rain!? If it starts now it'll have rained three times since I've been here."

"Mmm…"

Roy raised his eyebrows. Not out of surprise but more of an acknowledgement.

Edward looked up at the tree and whistled. "You managed to get up quite a ways, eh, Colonel?" Roy looked up at the tree as well and nodded_. It wasn't hard at all, actually._ Edward grinned. "You're a real acrobat, ya know?" Roy chuckled. _I'm not, blame the animals for that trick_. Edward walked over and rested his hand on Roy's shoulder, causing the chimera to flinch slightly from the contact.

"So, have you tried to fly yet?"

Roy blinked at the boy, an eyebrow raised high.

He shook his head quickly and decided to preen his feathers to avoid eye contact.

Edward cocked his head a tad. "What's wrong? You afraid to?" Roy nodded, gulping loudly.

Edward smiled. "Well, from what I'm looking at, if you're as good as climbing as you could be a flying, you'd be the best damn bird in the world."

Roy exhaled with a smirk. _It's the thought that counts, I guess. _The chimera looked up at the darkened sky and watched as the clouds soared above them, brimmed with water and dark save for the occasional spark of electricity within them. He sighed loudly, his chest heaving with the action. Roy looked back to Edward and motioned toward the door. "Yeah, I guess we should go back inside. C'mon."

The two returned to the shelter of the hotel and headed for the den. Edward flopped down on the couch, kicking his feet up on the coffee table. Mustang stood by, contemplating on whether to remain standing or sit somewhere like Ed. Glancing around, there were no other seats to be found. However, he saw the empty fireplace and started to motion for a snap but froze mid movement, a frown growing on his face. Ed looked up and watched the creature fold its wing back against itself with a melancholic expression.

The chimera stepped towards Ed a little and lay down next to him on the floor, curled his tail up around his body, and covered his head with his left wing. A long sigh escaped the form as Edward looked sadly at the table. "I know right now it seems like we can do nothing at all, Colonel, but…" Edward trailed off, looking at the beast's back rise and fall. "… But we're going to change you back—get you your life back—let you live normally again. I swear upon my life that we will."

There was no response from the chimera.

Edward reached over and rested his hand of his commander's wing, feeling the bristled feathers settle back from his touch. "I mean it, Mustang. We will find a way." He grinned. "Maybe then you can quit moping and doping and fill out more paperwork!" Roy groaned loudly in an overly comedic action, resulting in both of the alchemists laughing at each other. A crack of thunder cut them off.

"Man… It's really gonna pour, huh?" Ed quipped, the soft pattering of rain answering him.

The boy reached across his chest and moaned as he massaged his shoulder port. "I hate this kind of weather—always makes me all stiff and achy." Roy nodded. "Mmm." He looked up at the books that surrounded the eternally cold fireplace, rather disinterested. Edward looked at the books as well. "Wow, these are pretty old." Roy tilted his head ever so slightly in recognition. "I mean, Cecil Rousseau? That's like, 1650, and out of print. And yet here it's the whole damn collection, looking only a few years old." Edward whistled. "Man, if only politics interested me, they'd be quite the read." Roy smiled.

_Indeed, they would be… _

_Smell spider—hungry._

_Shut up, you dumb animal._

Roy mumbled and lay his head back down. Ed reclined into the couch and the two of them sat silently as rain showered the outside world, creating a soothing whisper of dissonance. Edward closed his eyes and let his mind swim in thought, trying to remember transmutation circles that would allow for chimera creation. He furrowed his brows when his mind turned to a tempest of circles and symbols, but no specific algorithms to assist him. He opened his eyes when a headache began to emerge from the stress. Looking upon the books his mind slowed, blacking out the unneeded material from his consciousness.

"There's still the problem of figuring out what you're fused with, whether we can separate you all back to normal. I mean, we wouldn't want to assume you're fused with, say, a fish, and try and weed out that animal when it isn't there… You aren't fused with a fish, right?" Roy raised a brow and shook his head. "Okay… That's one species down…" Edward sighed. "Now just a million to go…"

Roy frowned. He would just tell the kid if he could but… _But I can't_.

The two sat staring at the bookshelves when suddenly Edward piped up.

"THAT'S IT!"

Roy jumped at the sudden jubilation, feathers bristled high. He squawked in angered surprise as Edward stood to his feet with an enormous grin. "The library! It's bound to have books on the subject!" Roy tilted his head and gave the teen a look of sarcasm. _Oh yes, because every library has a section on chimeric transmutation and reversal, how foolish of us to not think of this sooner._

"I mean, they won't have the exact information that we need," Edward clarified, crossing his arms across his chest. "But they WILL have books over animal species and classification. Since you can't easily tell us what animal… or… MALS you're combined with, going through a few books would be quicker and more specific than having to play a long guessing game. What do ya think, Colonel? Wanna give it a shot?" Edward smiled hopefully at the chimera, waiting for a response.

The whispering of the rain was dampened only by the roll of thunder as Roy knitted his brows slightly. "What's wrong?" Edward grew concerned. "You… DO know what the other animals are, right?"

Roy shrugged. "Eeehh…"

Edward's smile faded into a façade. "Oh… Well… Th-that's okay! I'm sure we can figure it out if we try hard enough!" Inside however he felt his heart tighten like a bear trap. Not letting that show, Ed grinned at his boss with an air of confidence. Roy closed his eyes as he shook his head, smiling.

_Fullmetal, you are such an optimist…_

Edward smiled in return. "So, should we go check it out?" Roy opened his eyes a chirped an agreement. "Okay! Let's get going then!"

The boy headed through the hallway quickly, going toward the front lobby's door, but a collision with a large mass stopped him.

"Oomph!"

"Ack!"

The two men stumbled backward, the older adjusting his glasses. "Oh, sorry, sir! I was just looking for our commanding… Uh…" Edward looked up at the man, Roy slowly walking up behind him with curiosity for the situation. "K-kid! Stay behind me!" The man grabbed Edward and pulled him behind his back, reaching for his gun. Roy stifled a bark in surprise. "No, don't! He's fine!" Edward hurried out as he shoved his way back next to the chimera. "Trust me—he's not the enemy!"

The soldier did not lower his gun. "Listen, kid, you need to move away from that…" Roy furrowed his brows and chirped to Edward before stepping forward a little ways. He lowered his head so that he wasn't too tall and smiled at the soldier, looking down at the gun and back at the man's face. The soldier lowered his gun. He slowly, hesitantly, moved his hand near Roy's head before proceeding to pet his head like a dog.

Edward snickered from behind his hands, unable to resist the reaction to Roy's treatment.

"That's a… Good… Thing…?" the soldier stammered, surprised at the human-like hair under his hand. Roy coughed awkwardly before pulling back next to Edward who was still laughing. "Aw, Colonel, you're blushing," Ed joked. Roy's face darkened slightly at the quip.

_N-no I'm not! You shut up. Dumb pipsqueak wasn't being pet like a puppy…_

The soldier holstered his gun and looked back and forth between the boy and the monster before him. He started to speak but a woman's voice cut him off.

"Edward!? What's wrong? Is everything alright?" Hawkeye came downstairs and hurried toward the teen. Edward raised his hands in assurance. "I'm fine! You all get too excited around here." Hawkeye frowned as his retort. "Yes, well, Fullmetal, we have a lot on our plate as of late and our COMMANDER isn't necessarily doing a good job at helping." Ed crossed his arms and looked away. "I'm busy too, ya know! And besides, there have to some soldiers that are more qualified than I to lead you all." Roy and the soldier blinked in astonishment.

"C-commander!?"

_COMMANDER!?_

Ed turned back to the men and raised a brow. "What?"

The soldier hurried a salute. "I'm s-sorry, s-sir! I had no idea you were in charge, please forgive me for my actions and… Reactions!" Ed motioned his hands back. "Woah, calm down there, it's fine. I know I don't exactly look the part since I don't wear the uniform. Eh, Colonel?" Ed looked toward Roy waiting for a response, but only got a blank stare. "Mustang?"

_YOU. FULLMETAL. COMMANDER!? HOW DID THIS—WHEN—DID THIS HAPPEN!? Oh… Oh yeah… Heh heh…_

Roy shook his head from the shock and coughed before looking away embarrassed. Edward opened his mouth in confusion. "Ooooookay… Well, uh, anyway… What is it that you were looking for me for?" he asked, directed toward the spectacle-wearing soldier. "Oh!" he saluted. "Sir! Plans to infiltrate the mansion are almost finalized, we just need your approval before conducting it tomorrow!"

"Okay, fine, I'll be there in a minute. Colonel?" Ed turned to face Roy. "I'll be back in a little bit, so we'll look into that research when I'm done with these guys, okay?" Roy blinked slowly and nodded. Ed smiled before turning around to follow the soldier back to the planning room, leaving Roy and Riza alone.

Roy's tail twitched slightly as he stood next to his subordinate with an air of discomfort. The lieutenant glanced at the colonel, a sad smile flashed on her face. She looked back up to the hallway that Edward and the soldier were shrinking away in. "He really does take charge of a situation, doesn't he, sir?" Roy jumped, surprised by the vocalization. "Uh… Mmhmm…"

Riza exhaled slowly. "Sir…"

Roy looked down toward her.

"I'm sorry."

Roy's brows narrowed, his mouth forming an open frown_. What for, Lieutenant? You've done nothing but help._ Hawkeye lowered her head. "I made an oath to always watch your back, but…" Roy squawked and barked inarticulately as he tried to comfort her, waving the front of his wings around_. _

_N-no! No, you've done a wonderful job! You COULDN'T protect me then—you weren't permitted to accompany us on the mission—it isn't your fault at all! If anything, I'm glad you weren't allowed to assist us, as you would've been stuck in this situation too!_

The women smiled sadly at the frantic chimera. "I am glad that you're alright, sir, even if not quite yourself." Roy slowed and rested his wings back at his sides. He smiled out of one corner of his fang-covered mouth with raised brow. The women shook his shoulder lightly and went back upstairs, leaving the chimera alone.

_Where did humans go? Where go? Wanna go with!_

_No, they have work to do, so I need to leave them be. _

_What is this "I" human male speaks of? Is self not now a "we"?_

_Yes… Wait, no. Oh, forget it!_

Roy growled as he shook his head. He went back to the couch Edward had been using and hopped onto its cushions. He curled up and rested his head on one of the pillows, letting his wings relax away from their usual position. Looking much like a splash of black paint against the tan furniture, Roy closed his eyes. The rain outside grew heavier and Roy took a long, deep breath, relishing in the feeling of clear lungs, of which he didn't have in the sewer when the rain fell every day.

Breathing peacefully, he felt himself being pulled into the realm of his inner mind, where the other minds resided. He found himself sitting in his unconsciousness, the foggy blue-grey enveloping him in its nonexistent cool. He sighed, raising his hand to his head. He looked up and saw the other animals sitting in front of him, looking back at him. _"What?"_ he asked, his voice echoing slightly in his mind. One of the animals in front of him, noticeably smaller than he, shook its head_. "Nothing, other self." __"I swear, you animals are more annoying than Fullmetal after a false lead…"_ Roy mumbled, leaning back on his arms, legs crossed.

He looked back and forth between the four animals in front of him. _"It's weird though… I KNOW what you all are, but I don't at the same time…" _he trailed off, trying to pinpoint what each creature was_. "You're a… a… d…"_ he said slowly, pointing a finger at the largest of the animals in front of him. _"… D… UGH! I can't, even here. Maybe it is best that Fullmetal has to go through a bunch of dusty old books… Even without being able to talk, I wouldn't be able to show him what you all are."_

He groaned and flopped down on his back, feeling neither a jarring crash, nor a feeling of any pressure at all. He lay there, levitating in a fixed point of a nonexistent space. The larger animal stood up and walked over next to Roy, its paws making tiny beats on the matterless ground. It laid down and rested its muzzle on Roy's chest, a sad smile spreading across it. The black one flew over and nestled on the right side of Roy's neck, followed by the larger one, which swiveled its head round to look into Roy's eyes.

"_Where's the little guy?"_ Roy asked sarcastically.

A climbing sensation on Roy's head answered his question as tiny claws dug into his scalp to raise their tiny owner to the peak. _"Hey, you glutton."_

"_Hungry_…"

"_Yes, of course you are,"_ Roy sighed, closing his eyes.

The five lay curled together, silent, and close. The dissonant pitter-patter of the mind soon merging with the whispers of the rain outside. A dark black chimera lay curled up on a cold couch.

Left alone with only its thoughts.


	8. Chapter 8

Ch. 8

Drips and splashes of water echoed throughout the hotel, a calm hum that filled what would have been a deathly silent building. Outside, streets flooded with puddles and mud enveloped corners, just as it did every day in the tiny town. Creatures ventured out, more comforted by the weather as the soldiers standing guard took shelter from the downpour and were forced to leave them be. Young chimeras, damned by the outside world and normal society, ran through the miniature lakes, giggling and screaming with joy as they played with one another. The adults gathered together and those who could communicate conversed about the day and about their miserable state. Soldiers under awnings tensed when the children neared or when a thunderclap rolled above, ready to unlock their guns for a standoff.

False peace.

Edward watched the events play outside the cold, rain-speckled window, paying no mind to the meeting he was supposed to be holding. He wasn't cut out for the "take it slowly and rationally" approach; that was Mustang's job, not his. He exhaled silently, his breath whitening the glass and blurring the world beyond it. He raised his hand slowly as too not raise any suspension of boredom to his subordinates and began to draw doodles into the fogged window.

A circle.

Two dots.

A toothy smile.

Edward smirked faintly.

Angry eyebrows and a forked tongue.

He stopped abruptly when he saw what his subconscious was wanting him to deal with and wiped away the portrait quickly, causing a soldier to look up at him. "Sir?" Edward looked back at him. "Yeah? What is it?" The other men looked up from their diagrams and maps of the town and the mansion, worried looked all round. "Well… Does that sound like a plan?" Edward groaned and rubbed his shoulder port, tight squeaking riveting through his frame, with only himself to hear it.

"I don't know…" Edward rested his chin on his folded hands. "It seems a bit risky…"

The soldier to Ed's right piped up. "Well, yes, sir. But I'm afraid it's the best option we have besides going straight up to the actual door and knocking… Sorry for the bluntness of my response, sir." Edward waved a hand dismissing it completely. "You're right, I guess. Who all would be willing to investigate and carry out this mission?"

No hands rose and a thunderclap sounded off in the distance.

Edward felt his eyebrow twitch. "Okay… Let me rephrase that. Who is the most qualified in each needed field for this mission? That is not to say you WILL go, but as a best option."

Four hands went up, two of which were of Ed's team who had discovered the injured Colonel Mustang earlier. "You four, come with me, the rest of you, keep up the good work." The five left the other soldiers to discuss the situation from behind a closed door.

Edward stood and analyzed each man, taking into account the experience and age of each man. "Okay, I would hate to send you two back there since you've already gone, but I think you're our best bet. Would you be willing?" Christopher nodded, but Martin remained still and silent. Edward and Christopher looked at him questioningly, surprised by the lack of acceptance.

"If it's all the same, Edward, I would really rather… Not…" Martin trailed off. He shoved his hands into his pockets, an old schoolyard habit from when he got nervous, and always gave him trouble in the military. Edward noted the shakiness of his fingers before they had disappeared behind the blue of the uniform and nodded understandingly. "You can go."

Martin left quickly, almost sprinting.

"Why did he do that? He's usually so eager to help…" Christopher looked down at Ed and saw he was frowning sadly. "Sir?" Edward shook his head. "Leave him be and don't bother him about it unless he wants to talk. He probably needs some time to adjust." Christopher nodded knowingly.

"But you know what I'm wondering, 2nd Lieutenant? Why you of all people are willing to help? I mean… Last night you made it pretty clear your views on this town…" Edward said nonchalantly, glaring at the cinnamon-haired man. The soldier looked down at his feet and bit his lip. "I feel I need to do this, sir. I just thought that these… chimeras… were just weird messed-up creatures, not people… But now…"

The man looked out the large windows of the lobby, watching the children of the damned run about, screaming gleefully as they played.

"I… I want to make up for my wrong judgments and help not only your friend but all the people suffering here."

Edward smiled throughout his whole being at this revelation. "You have my support, Mache!" Ed saluted, receiving one in return from the man. Edward relaxed and turned to the other two with a look of gratitude and they saluted. "Now," Ed continued. "Since Lieutenant Mache here knows the way back to where we… Ventured last night, I'm placing him in charge. Understood?" The two men nodded and Mache smiled weakly. "Good. Remember, don't be seen and do not, under any circumstance, shoot unless it is a literal life-or-death situation. You will leave tonight at twenty-hundred hours, so I suggest you all get some rest now to prepare you. Dismissed!"

The four saluted each other and left their separate ways.

Edward pulled out his pocket watch and sighed when he saw its face. "Great, Mustang's probably bored beyond belief… Can't blame him—it's been two whole damn hours…" Edward walked back to the den where he had left the chimera as he imagined it sprawled out, staring at the ceiling with a look of complete disinterest. He smiled to himself. "Well, maybe not… Especially if Hawkeye's there… Eheheh!" he giggled, covering his mouth as to avoid being overheard.

"Oh, hey, Brother!"

Edward ran into the wall.

"AL!? What the hell? Don't do that…" Ed stammered, trying to catch his breath. Alphonse laughed warmly. "Sorry, Brother. Hey, where's the colonel? I thought he was with you?" Edward shrugged and wove his hand. "He was but I got pulled into a meeting (_and now I understand why Mustang hates them so much…_) He should be in the living room or somewhere around here."

Edward stopped waving his hand and pointed at nothing in particular. "Actually… Could you maybe help us out with something, Al?" Al's helmet nodded with a tiny clang. "Like what?"

Edward continued walking, more slowly as to converse with his little brother.

"Well, the colonel and I were gonna go to the town library to see if we could find any information on chimera transmutation and on what animals he was fused with." "But… Doesn't Colonel Mustang KNOW what he was fused with?" Edward shrugged. "I mean, he should, but he can't really tell us what they are, so looking through books and letting him point them out would be a hell of a lot quicker than playing a guessing game." Alphonse nodded understandingly.

The two reached the den and Edward began looking around for the chimera.

"Agh… Where the hell is he? I mean, he's a huge black chimera—he isn't hard to miss!"

Roy lifted his head from behind the couch back and growled, being quite pissed off. "Oh…" Edward responded awkwardly. "Uh… Hey, Colonel! Long time no see! Eh heh… heh…" Roy's scowl only grew as the boy felt a pang of guilt. "Sorry." Roy rolled his eyes and rested his head back down. Edward and Alphonse exchanged looks of confusion, and the elder walked around the couch to see what the creature was doing.

Ed almost smiled at the sight. A large mass of fluffy black feathers and fur, wrapped in on itself like a ball (_a faint "Awe!" heard from Al, presumably due to the likeness to a cat_) and its head pulled under one of the wings in a protective fashion. The only problem was that this was a grown man stuck inside the body of a monster—an adorable monster—but a monster nonetheless. Edward nudged Roy's tail with his foot, getting a twitch in response. "C'mon, big guy, we have to go to the library, remember?"

Roy groaned, voice almost completely human in comparison to the usual gruff, clacking one he now had. He curled in on himself more tightly, like a young child with a blanket. Edward lifted his leg higher and nudged the chimera's butt with his boot, moving the entire body. "I said we're going to the library. Get up." Roy groaned again, noticeably louder and more animal-like. Edward felt his jaw tense up from oncoming frustration. He grabbed Roy's tail and pulled, not hard enough to hurt, but enough to move the chimera from his spot. He was almost immediately face to face with a snarling set of teeth and angry white eyes.

Edward was unfazed though and motioned to the entryway with his thumb. "Come on." He turned and walked out of the den, leaving Alphonse and the pissed off chimera behind. Roy whipped his head around, almost 180 degrees and glared at Al. The suit of armor staggered and hurried after his brother. "E-Ed! Wait for me!" Roy stood alone, feathers fluffed and teeth grinding. He felt his temple pounding hard and he closed his eyes. Taking in a deep breath, he tried to calm himself down.

The young alchemist could've picked a better time to bother Roy as the man had been deep in conversation with his inner demons and was not prepared for human interaction.

The chimera begrudgingly followed the brothers with a quiet growl resonating within his chest. He wasn't tired, he wasn't lazy, he just needed to talk to the others. _The only ones I __**can**__ talk to… _He lifted his head when he reached the front lobby to see the brothers waiting for him by the open door. He jerked to a stop with wide eyes.

_FREE_

_SELF FREE_

_WANNA RUN WANNA RUN WANNA RUN_

_FLY_

_FLY AWAY_

_FLY FREE AND HIGH_

_ No! No… We aren't leaving them._

_Other self is not healthy in head._

_ Yeah… I believe I have an infestation of unwanted pests._

Roy shook his head, trying his best to ignoring the angry remarks inside his soul, and continued on. He slowed as he reached the door, glancing at the blonde who was giving him a very quizzical look. He huffed a sigh and walked out the door, feet walking right over the thick mud of the entryway. Edward tred carefully on it and Al just went ahead and hopped over it. Roy raised a brow at the brothers' avoidance of the muck.

"It's easy for me to sink into it and Brother got stuck in it last night," Al explained to the silent question.

Edward blushed slightly. "Yeah, well, I was also CARRYING THE COLONEL so my weight was increased!" Roy blinked in surprise, but then scoffed. Edward fumed in return, his face so red that the rain almost steamed as it hit his head, "I'M NOT FAT!" Roy laughed, bent over himself and using his knees as support for his shaking frame. Alphonse and Edward stared at the chimera confused. "What's so funny?!" Edward stuttered, crossing his arms. Roy's laughter quieted down and he shook his head.

_I just forgot how short-tempered you were! _

Edward let out a small "Tch!" and pulled his hood over his head. "C'mon, let's just get moving already. I'm soaked enough as it is…" Alphonse wrung his hands. "Um… Colonel, do you need an umbrella? I mean…" Roy shook his head and then his whole body, sending water everywhere. He pointed to his feathers and let them see that they—once cleaned as they were now—repelled water. "Oh… Well, if you're sure…?" Roy nodded and followed Edward.

The three of them walked along the stepping stones that adorned the sides of buildings along the road. Edward and Alphonse chatted ahead of Roy as they went on their way and Roy, for the first time really, got to see the two acting normal. Without any military around or citizens to criticize their looks the brothers smiled and joked with each other despite the rather gloomy setting. Edward would joke about something ridiculous like his automail or his mechanic girl and Alphonse would return a witty and sometimes inappropriate comment about them. The two bantered and laughed and shoved, all in front of the boy's boss, whether they had meant to or not.

Roy felt his heart warming as he watched the siblings acting like… Well… Children.

It was so rare of them to act their age, and Mustang had assumed it always was what with their mother dying and leaving them at such a young age. But seeing them now, away from all adult hardships and judgments, they were just… Themselves. Just themselves. Not the Fullmetal Alchemist. Not a bonded soul. Just two brothers.

"Hey, Colonel Bastard, you're falling behind! I mean, we could leave you out here, but I doubt Hawkeye would like that very much!" Edward joked back to the chimera who was now a great many paces behind them. Roy scowled and hurried back behind them, glaring at Edward with a slightly pink face. The teen smiled devilishly and turned back around and kept talking with his little brother. Roy frowned as one of the animals inside him laughed.

* * *

"So this is the Limixi Library, huh? Not as impressive as Central's, but nice," Edward commented. He took off his coat and snapped it, freeing as much water from it as possible before hanging it on a statue head. Alphonse dried himself off as best he could and chuckled when Roy shook himself dry, soaking Edward in the process. Roy gave Edward a smug grin as the dripping teen growled at him.

"I'd lay off the pranks, Bastard, we're here to help you remember?"

Roy's grin faded and he nodded slowly.

"Alright then, let's see if we can dig up anything. Al, you can go look for alchemy research documents or reference books, here." Edward threw his pocket watch at the armored boy. "Use that if they ask for verification. Alphonse put the watch in his thigh holster and nodded before heading off to the right and behind a book shelf.

"Okay, Colonel, let's go see if we can find what makes you tick!" Ed joked as he headed toward the left. Roy sighed with an eyebrow raised. _This kid is even worse when off duty…_

The chimera followed Edward around a large bookcase which opened to a seemingly endless number of rows. Edward stood with his hands on his hip and whistled, clearly impressed. "Again, pretty impressive for such a tiny town!" He almost giggled, "C'mon! Let's see what we can find!" before running down the line, leaving a rather flummoxed Roy behind him.

Roy walked the same path that Ed had taken and found himself alone. He wandered along, absentmindedly looking at the books that surrounded him. Thunder rumbled loudly outside and the rain picked up again. The creatures within were all chatting and arguing with each other as they normally did. Roy had learned to ignore them almost entirely since his transformation. It wasn't until a few minutes later that he realized something was terribly off. All of the animals inside him were deathly quiet. Roy knitted his brows. _Guys? You there? Where did you go?_

He got no response.

He swallowed, his throat growing parched.

_Guys, come on now, this isn't funny._

Silence.

He stepped farther into the row, his talons making tiny clicks as they glided over the marble floor. His breathing slowed and blood pounded in his ears, making his vision blurred. He swiveled his head around and saw nothing; he swiveled it back and saw nothing. He felt his knees shake. He knew this feeling. He knew it now almost equally as well as he knew how to breathe. He felt his spine tingle and his muscles tensed. He crouched; hoping to hide from the thing he knew was watching him. His senses heightened even more so than they already were and he began to hear the rain outside falling as if he were in the middle of a hurricane. Every drop was a pounding pain and every splash was cannon fire. He froze, sweat dripping from his cheek.

He heard a growl from outside.

It wasn't one of his animals either.

He held his breath.

The growl resonated and grew louder and louder as Roy became more and more paranoid.

The animals within him began screaming **RUN** over and over and over and over again.

_**RUN**_

_** RUN**_

_** RUN**_

Roy leaped up onto the bookshelf in front of him and he scouted and plotted his surroundings. He saw the tiny flicker of gold to his left and he immediately pounced.

"WHAT THE—Colonel!? The hell do you think you're doing!?" Edward scrambled away from the beast and his chest tightened as he saw the look of fear in Roy's face. The chimera gasped and scurried backward. His back touched a book and he screamed, spinning around and slicing the entire shelf with his wing's talon. Pages and pictures fell from their bindings and the wood creaked as it began to snap apart. The entire shelf came crashing down, nearly crushing Roy's feet.

Edward stared as his tried to form words.

"H… Hey now… It's… It's okay…" Edward stuttered quietly as he moved toward the creature.

He slowly and gently placed his hand on Roy's shaking shoulder, raising his automail in precaution. Roy cried out and tried to slice through whatever it was that was trying to kill him. When his body jolted and the clanging of metal rang out he froze. He looked up slowly, shaking, sweating profusely.

Edward stood with Roy's talon wedged deep in the protective grill of his automail, mere inches away from his eye.

_ Oh my God…_

_ Oh my God I almost killed him…_

"Colonel! It's me! It's okay… Ssh, it's okay… You're safe, you're safe…" Edward cooed, petting Roy's head protectively. He pulled the chimera into his shoulder and rubbed his neck. "You're safe… I'm here…" Roy relaxed and his feathers drooped as he felt his knees beginning to collapse. He fell into the boy and the two knelt down. "Colonel… What were you scared of? There's nothing here to hurt you…" Roy was gasping for air as adrenaline continued coursing through his veins despite the removal of danger. He shook his head weakly as he could still hear the growling outside, and even though all the rain and thunder he could tell it was turning into a sinister laugh. He lifted his head and tilted it to hear better, tuning out the worried teen in front of him.

The creature laughed and backed away.

Then it vanished completely.

Roy blinked hard, trying to make sure it was really gone before returning to the boy. He turned back to Ed and stared deep into the boy's face. His eyes were focused, his brows pulled together tightly and a bead of sweat began to slowly drip down his forehead. But he was frowning. Sadly. Roy scrunched up his face and shook his head hard, trying to rid himself of the excess blood in his ears. The animals inside him relaxed and started to talk to each other again, but more quietly than before. "Colonel…?" Ed asked sadly.

Roy looked back at the boy, smiled faintly, and he wiped his face with one of his wings.

"Did you see something, or…?"

Roy shook his head.

"Did you hear something?"

Roy didn't respond.

"… Damn…" Ed cursed, looking around for the presumed enemy. "Are you sure it wasn't your imagination?" He looked back at Roy and saw the chimera hang head and weakly shake his head. Edward opened his mouth at the response, but gritted his teeth as he looked around again. He started to stand back up but Roy hooked his talon on Ed's sleeve, a tiny whimper escaping him. The claw pulled tighter at the fabric as the chimera shut his eyes.

Edward stood up straight and looked down at the pitiful creature that hung onto him like a child. _Don't… Don't leave me… Please… Please… _Edward closed his eyes and sighed. "Don't worry… You'll be safe as long as I'm around. We are going to get you back to normal and… " he trailed off. "And you won't have to be afraid anymore." He wrapped his hand around the claw and squeezed it gently.

"You'll be okay, Colonel."

* * *

"DAMN IT! Ugh… Why are all these books on farming!? The only farms around here are gardens and vineyards—so why in God's name are there so many books on freaking sheep!?" Edward threw the book hard and Roy ducked nonchalantly, still reading his book. Edward flopped on his back. "If I'd known animal research would be so tedious I'd have called Fuery or something." Roy looked up from his book to flash a smirk. He looked back down at his book and turned the page, carefully avoiding ripping a page with his talon. Unlike Edward, he cared whether or not the books stayed well-kept.

He sighed and closed the book, rubbing his eyes with his wing. He stood up and put the book back on the shelf—upside down—but still in its proper spot. He looked back at the sprawled alchemist and gave a bark, telling him to get back to work. "Alright, alright! It's just hard to keep reading when all you've learned so far is how to properly sheer a spring sheep!" Roy smiled and turned back to the bookshelf. He looked over every title there and he too groaned.

_This is getting us nowhere…_

"Hey, guys!"

Roy and Edward looked out from behind the shelves to see Alphonse walking toward them with arms full of papers and books. "Woah, Al! How did they let you get all that?" Alphonse froze and slowly organized the documents on the floor. "There was no one there and the room was a mess. As if…" he stopped. "As if someone had ransacked the place before we got here." Edward gasped quietly, but Roy remained stone-faced.

_So that's what he was doing here…_

"Well… Whatever the case, these were all still there, right? So there's bound to be something they missed! … Whoever they were…"

_Are… And I doubt it—not with his eye._

Edward picked up on of the books Alphonse brought and flipped through the pages, his eyes dancing on the paper, mind taking in all the information that he now had in his hands. "This… This is incredible!" Roy raised a brow and looked down on the page Ed had the book open to. _It's literally just a bunch of scribbles, Ed. _Edward continued reading, apparently able to read the cryptic writing. "This is really old alchemy—from the time of Xerxes—which means…" The boy turned to Roy with a look of concern. "We're dealing with some seriously messed up stuff."

Roy raised a brow, clearly ticked off by the comment.

Edward caught himself. "I-I mean, more so than we thought. No one uses this alchemy anymore due to its high failure ratio and its effects on the user. If this is the kind of alchemy the bastards who transmuted you used then we are in some serious and dangerous game." Roy stared hard at the page, trying to understand it, but he couldn't. He pulled back and shook his head, a headache beginning to emerge from the strain. Edward smiled and patted his shoulder. "It's okay, we'll figure it out." Roy nodded in return and he went back to looking through the books he had pulled down for his own research.

Edward and Alphonse exchanged worried looks as the chimera flipped through pages of animal categorization and classification, frowning at the apparent lack of identification. The brothers sighed and each opened one of the ancient texts and began to dive into a sea of forgotten knowledge.

* * *

The town bell sounded twice as they read and at the end of the third chime Edward closed the book and rubbed his temples. "Ugh… I haven't had this much trouble reading alchemic formulas since from when we were kids!" Alphonse nodded and closed his book as well. "Maybe we should take a few books home to try and read in a better light? It is almost 18 hours."

Edward yawned loudly with a stretch. "Yeeeeah that might be best. Colonel, you have any luck over there?" Roy continued reading, apparently not hearing the boy. "Colonel." He flipped a page and blinked. "MUSTANG!" A loud squawk came from the startled chimera as it fumbled to try and catch the book it had jolted out its wings. "Raagh!?" Edward sighed. He cupped his hands over his mouth as though they were a mile apart even though they were really only about a two meters apart. "Have. You. Found. Anything. Yet?!" he shouted, getting a growl from Roy. The man threw the book at Edward's head and it met its target.

"OW! What the hell, Colonel!?" Roy motioned to the book and stood up to stretch himself. Edward looked at the book angrily as he rubbed his hurt forehead. He noticed one of the pages was dog-eared and he turned to it. On the page, there was a list of canines—wolves, foxes, coyotes, jackals, poodles—all sorts of animals. He looked up at the chimera and raised a brow. "You're part… Poodle?" Roy shot a glare at the boy and growled. "So… Not a poodle?" Roy groaned and nodded. "So a wolf?" Roy shook his head annoyingly. "A… A fox?" Roy tensed up and finally gave up.

He barked loudly and clearly.

Edward blinked in surprise.

"So… Just a dog? No… No specifics?"

Roy moaned and smacked his head against one of the bookcases. _It's a start, Ed! Give me a break… It's bad enough being stuck with one and having to resist the urge to sniff everything… _Edward sighed and closed the book. "So part dog… But you have wings, meaning there's also a bird… Anything else?" Ed questioned, trying to find some sort of foothold. Roy nodded. He turned around and pointed to his left wing. He moved his claw away and moved it up once. Twice. He waited for the boy to understand. "… Two birds?" Roy nodded. He barked and raised his claw once and stopped. "Two birds, one dog… Is that it?"

Roy sighed and looked at his tail. It was long and covered in feathers and fur, but it was far longer than a dog's tail and certainly longer than a bird's.

_Hey, hungry guy, mind telling me what you are? _

_Hungry…_

_Well yeah, but your species? __… _

_Hungry… _

_Ugh screw you._

Roy shook his head, but was clearly troubled. Edward stood up and rested his hands on his hips. "So, just to recap, two birds, a dog, a bastard, and one unknown?" Roy glared but nodded. Ed scratched his head. "Well, at least we got something… Have you tried asking your little critter friends what they are?" Roy raised a brow. "Oh… You've tried?" Roy replied with a sarcastic, "Mmhmm~" _If I had a clear answer, would we really be doing all this stupid research?_

"Well… Is the fourth one big or small? Or can you not tell that?" Ed asked, motioning a small form and a massive form with his hands. Roy looked up near his forehead and thought hard about the question. He looked back at Edward and motioned a small form with his wings. "So small but with a really long tail?" Roy nodded. "Okay… Okay…" Ed mumbled to himself, lower lip pursed out. He walked over to his pile of books and struggled to pick them all up. "Well! Let's get back then, we can look at these tonight and come back tomorrow for more."

Alphonse sighed at his older brother, "Ed, you don't need to carry all those by yourself!" Edward's face was growing pink. "Psh! Like hell I can't!" Al turned to face his brother as the teen walked slowly forward, leaning back from the weight. "I didn't say you couldn't!" "Yeah, but you meant it!" Roy chuckled as Alphonse groaned. "That idiot…" He organized the papers and put them in a book binding to keep them safe from the rain. "Come on, Colonel, we should make sure he can actually make it to the door." Roy smirked and shook his head at the thought of Edward collapsed under a pile of tiny books, begging for help.

The two caught up with Edward quickly even though the boy had left them behind a good couple of paces. Roy noticed that the boy was actually carrying more books than he originally thought and he began to feel concerned for the child's load. More than once while walking to the lobby Roy braced himself for catching a book or even the boy himself. Once they reached the lobby and Edward needed to put on his coat the books were dropped on the floor, heavy enough that they remained in a neat pile. "Damn those are heavy! Ugh, my back…" Ed groaned, massaging his lower back and hips.

Roy furrowed his brows and looked down at the books. He hadn't tried to carry more than one book since his change and he worried if he even could, but he didn't feel right just walking along while letting his subordinate do all the work. As Edward put his coat on the chimera bent down and carefully placed three books in his wing, a fifth one being held by his claw. He piled them against his chest and smiled as he saw the pile was drastically reduced, even though he left the largest books for Ed to carry. Better to be carrying heavy books with hands than claws…

Edward bent down to grab his load but gave a surprised exclamation when he found it smaller. He looked over at Alphonse but the armor pointed to Roy. Edward turned around and saw the chimera smiling guiltily with a stack of books cradled in his arms. "… Uh… Thanks?" Ed mumbled, clearly not expecting the act. Roy grinned and began walking toward the door with the books, his tail slightly higher than normal to counterbalance the new weight.

The three walked back along their old path and the rain fell in a cool mist.

A green eye watched them from the shadows and a growl escaped its throat.

Roy turned around at the sound and looked around nervously before sprinting back to his group.

The growl turned into tut as the green eye faded into the darkness.

"Damn…"


	9. Chapter 9

Ch. 9

Roy yawned loudly as he stretched out his legs. Even though Edward had gone to bed and Alphonse was helping the soldiers with the graveyard shift, Mustang felt he still had work to be done. It was now one o'clock and the only sounds were Ed's quiet breathing and the lantern flickering. Roy looked over at the sleeping alchemist and blinked tiredly with a smile. It was rare that he saw the kid not trying to appear bigger and tougher than he really was. He was a strong kid, to be sure, but still only a child. And at that moment that child was sleeping in bliss, unawares to the chimera guarding him from the terrors of the night. Roy turned back to his reading and stared blankly at the pages.

Roy wished he could warn the soldiers, warn Edward and Alphonse, but he couldn't. To warn them that there were nocturnal monstrosities that cared to the whim of their sinful creator, who flew and crawled and slithered under the moonlight and watched all around them. They growled at every corner and hissed at every alleyway. They…

_They're what I was supposed to be… _

Roy closed the book and used his teeth to lessen the flame of the oil lamp. He curled up and watched the fire dance its light upon the glass. He wasn't a pyromaniac but he was always hypnotized by the flames. Even a flickering candle, with its fire so fleeting that it may snub itself out so suddenly with no warning, was so beautiful and spiritual to Roy. He closed his eyes and saw the flames dance against the red of his lids.

He would not put out the lamp.

He would not return to the horror of the darkness.

He would not return to the beatings that accompanied it.

He would _not…_

_He…_

* * *

_He found himself lying on a cold stone floor, sticky with his sweat and blood. His breathing was struggled as the air was choking him with its fear and evil intent. He opened his eyes and cried out as he saw his chamber. "No… No! NO NO NO NO NO NO! I can't be back here!? No! Fullmetal found me—he saved me—I got away from here! Let me go! LET ME GOOOOO!" Roy screamed, his chains ringing out as he fought to escape them. He screamed to be free. He screamed and screamed and screamed._

"_Would you be so kind as to stop? It's rather distracting."_

_Roy gasped and stared wide-eyed at the man in front of the door, the light from behind him silhouetting his form. The man tilted his head. "What's wrong, friend? Were you not expecting me this early in the night?" Roy howled in fear and kicked all around, trying to push himself away from the male. "Y-You stay away from me! STAY AWAY!" The man closed his eyes and laughed quietly. "You really must stop with the screeching and barking, my dear soldier, it is so annoying." The man stepped towards Roy slowly, his shadow fading away and revealing his green eyes. _

"_I-I SAID STAY AWAY FROM ME! You can't…" Roy choked. "YOU CAN'T HURT ME ANYMORE! This is only a nightmare… Heh… I'll wake up and everything will be fine!" his struggling voice changed to a sorrowful laugh. His chuckling began to crescendo into a demented shriek as he felt his mind slipping from reality. "YOU SEE!? I'M NOT REALLY HERE—I'M SAFE—I'M FREE! YOU DIDN'T KEEP GUARD OF ME WELL ENOUGH AND NOW YOU CAN'T HURT ME ANYMORE! YOU CAN'T HURT ME! YOU CAN'T HURT ME! AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAAAAAA!" _

_Roy rolled around on the floor laughing crazily, his tears soaking his face. "It's a dream it's a dream it's a dream it's a dream it's a dream it-" he chanted under his breath, the rhythm distracting him from the man watching over the whole act. "I'm quite displeased, Mr. Mustang."_

_Roy stopped and looked up behind his bangs and sneered. "You shut up! You aren't real!" The man gave a sad tut and he shook his head. "I thought it was going to be hard to break a soldier of your maturity, but I suppose I was mistaken." He drew his leg back and knocked the breath out of Roy. Mustang coughed and gasped. "You haven't broken anything of me! Not my spirit, not my mind, nothing!" Roy whimpered as he felt one of his ribs crack. "…Nothing!" _

_The man kicked Roy in the neck, getting a gargled scream in return. "You will be easy to break, we simply need to find your weak point." Roy coughed furiously. "I… I don't understand… This has to be a dream!... Was… Was that all a dream?... Did Edward… Did Edward never…?" he mumbled, crestfallen. "I can't still be here… I CAN'T!" he screamed as the man's blow struck him across the head._

"_As I've said, dear friend, you must stop with the screeching. It's upsetting." _

"_But… But I'm… taaaaaaaaaaurgh…" Roy struggled, his voice mutating. __**No… NOOOO!**_

_The man smiled and grabbed one of the chains around Roy's feet, pulling the claws high in the air. "Perhaps we should prepare you for flying, then?" Roy squawked and flailed to get back to his proper orientation. The man hooked the chains on a hook that hung from the ceiling and stepped back to see the chimera hanging upside down, fighting to get back upright. "Now, try and use your new wings to fly. I'll be back in three minutes' time. We'll see if you complied, but if not…" the man said, reaching for something in his pocket. "Well… We'll have to find a way to make you." _

_Roy felt his blood beginning to flow to his head, even more painful than normal due to the longer neck he now had. He felt his heart skip a beat as the man left the room, a letter knife sparkling in his pocket. The door slammed, hurting Roy's head even more than it already was. He waited until the footsteps trailed off before he made his move. He jerked around, trying to pull himself up with his legs and flailing to grab the hook with his talons. _

_No such luck._

_Roy let himself fall back, swinging from the inertia. _

_The blood in his ears was deafening and his face was a dark red. Eyes watering and vision warping, he gave in and tried to flap his wings. He ended up moving backwards instead of forwards, right into a cold brick wall. Whimpering, but taking advantage of the uneven surface, the chimera dug its claws into the cracks and began to slowly climb up. Backwards at first, before reaching a point where he could twist around and let the blood circulate normally. Roy heard footsteps approaching and he panicked. _

_Leaping for the hook, he swung on the chain, even using his teeth to help hold himself up on the awkward suspension. He heard the door creak as the devil opened it as a leisurely pace. "Well, not quite what I was meaning, but still impressive for a first go, Roy." The man smiled and he vanished as Roy felt himself falling to the ground, no longer hung up. His skull met the stone floor with an agonizing CRACK and he screamed out like bloody—"_MUSTANG!"

* * *

"MUSTANG, WAKE UP!" Edward pleaded, shaking the flailing chimera.

Roy's eyes shot open with a loud, pitiful cry as he heard Ed's voice. He looked over at the boy and he felt sweat dripping from his brow. His throat was aching and his head throbbed with an awful headache. "Colonel, you're okay, it was just a nightmare! It's okay…" Ed cooed, wiping away the sweat and tears from the chimera's face. "It was a dream…" Roy pulled away and pushed himself up to his feet, heading for the toilet. Edward shut his eyes as the man retched into the container, his back heaving from the painful acid.

"Aaugh… Aaugh drooughn…?" Roy muttered between gasps.

"Yeah. From the way you were shaking, I figure it was hell?" Ed confirmed. The chimera flushed the toilet and leaned on the sink. He looked into the mirror and panted, a line of saliva still on his jaw. He hissed as he struck the sink handles, water gushing from the faucet. He shoved his face into the stream, coughing from pain. He stayed there under the water for a few beats hoping to wash out the bile from his mouth and the sweat from his face. After confident in being clean, Roy backed away and shook his head free of the water and spit into the sink before hitting the handle again.

The chimera staggered back into the room and flopped face-first on his bedding. He still breathed heavily, leaving the young Fullmetal no more assured than before. "Colonel…" Roy flicked his tail in response, slowly turning his face to the boy. Ed pushed back Roy's bangs from his eyes and looked sadly into the white opaque irises that had once been a shiny midnight blue. Ed sighed and leaned forward, his forehead almost touching Roy's. He closed his eyes to avoid tearing up.

"I wish so that you could tell us your troubles…" he mumbled under his breath.

Roy felt a lump in his throat and he chirped quietly. He shifted his body and wrapped his right wing around the boy's shoulders. Edward opened his eyes and smile faintly. "We… We'll go into the town later to help some of the residence and then go back to the library again. Maybe some of the townspeople can communicate with you." Roy pulled back slightly and cocked his head in confusion. Edward stood up and explained. "Well, from what we can gather, some of the chimeras can talk to EACH OTHER, but not one of us. So maybe it has something to do with the animals they were fused with being in common… At least," Ed concluded. "At least that's what we've got to go on."

Roy nodded understandingly, remembering the strange occurrence of the previous day's bird flock. _But I don't think I was transmuted with a flock of finches… Right? _The animals inside him nodded, although slowly as all of them felt the nausea as well as Roy. Edward headed for the door and opened it. "I'll let you rest, and I'll be right downstairs." He smiled and started to close the door, causing a tiny fear inside Roy, but he left it open a crack. Roy exhaled in relief and fell back on the pillow.

Closing his eyes, Roy let the softness of his pillow carry him off to his sub consciousness.

"_Hey, guys," Roy said sarcastically to his animals._

"_Greetings,"__ replied the black one._

"_Hello,"__ replied the tan one._

"_Hello hello hello hello hello!"__ replied the largest one._

"… _Sick…"__ the smallest whimpered._

_Roy smiled sadly and he pet the creature on its back, his hand slowly stroking the scales. "Yeah, sorry about that, everyone…" The black one shook its head. __"Was master's fault, not other's."__ Roy turned quickly with a sneer, "He is not our master! No one is!" The largest animal whimpered and its ears fell back against its head. _

"_Isn't… Isn't Ed-Word…?"_

_Roy sighed and shook his head. "No. No one is our master and no one ever will be. Honestly! Just because someone does something cruel to you does not mean you have to obey them!"_

"_But it stops the hurt."_

_Roy rubbed his hands down his face and groaned. "Yes, but it's worse in the long run!" The black one laughed. __"Self does not run! Self flies! Naked one, furred one, and prey run!"__ The other feathered animal cheered in approval. _

_Roy snarled and they quieted down. _

"_Why see not-master-master when sleeping? Got away from not-master-master because Ed-Word is a good not-master-master, right?"__ the largest one asked in confusion, one ear raised higher than the other. "Yes… Well, no… It's hard to explain." Roy rubbed his neck. "Have none of you ever had nightmares until now?" All the animals, even the simple-minded one, cocked their heads in confusion. __"Night… Mare…? What is a nightmare?"__ the tan one asked._

_Roy groaned. This was not the kind of human experience he wanted to elaborate upon. "Well, they're like dreams but not neutral or happy. They're usually a bad memory, a fear you have, or a random vision that supposedly prepares you to act should the event actually occur." The animals stared at each other and looked back to Roy with blank expressions. Roy felt his eyelid twitch. "Bad dreams about bad things." The animals opened their mouths and then nodded. _

"_I swear to God, you animals are gonna drive me insane…" Roy mumbled to himself._

Roy breathed slowly as his inner mind was in another realm. Edward watched from the doorway and squinted at the scene. "He isn't sleeping… So what the hell is he doing…?" he wondered aloud to himself. He quietly shuffled in front of the beast and squatted down to watch its curious rest. Every once in a while Roy's brows would lift or the corner of his mouth twitch, but he was otherwise completely still. Edward sat watching the chimera for a good while without any change in its behavior.

Roy's breathed in deeply, silently. He sighed audibly and slowly opened his eyes. He blinked as he tried to rationalize why Edward was in front of him. He squawked in shock as it dawned on him. Jerking upwards and falling backwards, the chimera flailed in surprise at the discovery of the child. _Edward!? What the hell!? _Edward jumped up and awkwardly tried to help him up. "Sorry! I didn't mean to scare you!" He pulled Roy back up into a sitting position

Roy screeched loudly in annoyance at his subordinate as he brushed his feathers back down. Edward chuckled. "I said I was sorry, jeez! Drama queen!" _Insufferable shrimp! _Edward smirked at the snarling chimera as it turned away from him. He bit his inner cheek and took a breath. "So… Whatcha doing?" Roy turned back and raised a brow, still frowning. Edward gave a nervous cough. "I mean, when you curl up like that?"

Roy twitched.

_Damn brat's been watching me…_

The chimera sighed and shrugged, hoping that the motion was enough to get the kid off his case, but it was for naught. Crossing his arms, Ed stuck out his lower lip in a fake pout. "C'mon, tell me!" Roy rolled his eyes with a groan. He lifted his wing and motioned to his head, raising his brows while he pointed. Edward squinted as he tried to interpret the action. He blinked with wide eyes when he understood. "Oh, are you talking to the animals?" Roy nodded and returned his wing to its rested position. Edward released a "Hmm…" as he rocked on the balls of his feet. "I see… Okay…" he mumbled, his hand around his chin and lips as he thought.

Roy slid off the bed and stood next to the boy with a look of inquiry. "If you can talk to them, then do you know exactly what animals they are? Like, can you ask?" Roy shook his head_. Tried that already._ Edward flashed a look of worry before regaining his composure. "Oh yeah, you tried that already, didn't you?" Roy nodded. "Well… Damn, there goes that idea." Edward grumbled, resting his hands on his hips. Roy chirped and began heading for the door. He looked back and Ed and swished his tail. Edward followed the chimera down the hall.

A soldier passing by stopped and began to salute the alchemist and chimera. "At ease," Ed shot as he continued past the man. The soldier nodded and kept walking to his station. Roy turned his head around and watched the officer as he grew smaller and smaller with each new step. He turned back to Ed and scoffed, shaking his head slowly. "What?" Roy shook his head again with closed eyes. He smiled. _Nothing…_ Edward puffed out his cheeks and nudged the chimera's shoulder with his fist. "Will you quit that already!? It's annoying!" Roy laughed. _Not as annoying as you, you pipsqueak!_

The two bantered while they traveled down the passage until they reached one of the rooms near the end and Edward stuck his head in the entryway.

"Hey, Al! We're heading into town now, are ya coming or are you staying here?" A sound of clanking metal came from somewhere in the room and a young voice replied, "I would, but some of these guys need my help here!" Edward nodded and waved goodbye to his younger brother. As he and Roy passed the door, the chimera looked into the room and saw the suit of armor and some other soldiers looking over maps while two other soldiers were tending to some sort of wounds they had. Roy swallowed nervously as he turned back. He could smell the stench of blood and saliva coming from the wounded soldiers as they wrapped their flesh.

"Colonel!"

Roy jumped and his feathers flared up. "Are you just gonna stand there like a statue or are you gonna follow me?" Ed jibed. The chimera hissed softly and sprinted to be back beside the boy. Edward smirked devilishly and he pat Roy's head. "Good boooooy!" he cooed jokingly. Roy's eyes went wide in horror and he pulled away, trembling slightly. _DOG, DON'T YOU DARE!_ Roy screamed in his head as the animal inside of him grew excitedly happy. He snapped his head around and growled at his tail which was wagging slowly. He tried biting at it to stop the movement but only ended up running in circles until he felt himself getting disoriented. He turned back around and snarled at the five Edwards that he saw. He shook his head hard and swayed as he tried to regain his coordination. Slowly, the five Eds merged back into one laughing one. "AHAHAHAHA YOU JUST CHASED YOUR TAIL—OH MY GOD MY LUNGS! OH, I CAN'T BREATHE!" the alchemist stammered through his chortling.

_**DON'T MAKE FUN OF ME!**_

Roy hissed deeply with a sound that made the boy jump and step back. Edward felt his lungs tighten as he stared at the terrifying face making the noise. The chimera's face was furrowed into a snarl that was akin to that of a lion, the fangs that adorned its upper and lower jaws now a deadly frame around the mouth and the other pointed teeth were visible next to the forked dragon tongue. Roy relaxed his snarl, but still frowned with a stern glare. He walked past Edward (who readily got out of his way) and wacked the boy's leg with his tail with an audible smack.

The man walked out into the rare sunlight and passed a sentry guard who instinctively pointed his gun. When Edward ran after the beast the guard lowered his gun and continued his duty with a wave of relief overcoming his mind. "Colonel, slow down, will ya!?" Ed called out to his commander. The chimera whipped his head around over his back and growled, causing his subordinate to stumble on his feet and bite his lip. "Look, I'm sorry! I was just surprised is all!" Roy scoffed angrily. _No, all you did was treat me like a mangy mutt! _He turned back to face forward_. No better than __**him**__…._

Edward tried to place his hand on Roy's shoulder, but the winged beast pulled back quickly, leaving the tiny alchemist with only a single feather under his metal fingers. He pulled his hand back and stared at the shimmering ebony feather, its hidden colors revealing themselves in the golden sunlight. He frowned and tugged the feather out of his metal joint and shoved it in his pocket. "Colonel, please, I'm sorry! I wasn't laughing at you—I was laughing at the fact that it was that action _by _you."

Roy let out a quiet grumble before popping his neck. He turned back to his subordinate and rolled his eyes. Edward smiled worriedly. "We good?" Roy chirped and nodded. _Sure._

Edward pat the chimera on the back, albeit too hard. "Good! Let's get the tough part of the day over with so we can get to the library with more time to research." Roy rolled his shoulders to try and ease the slight stinging from Ed's slap. _Fine, let's just get this over and done with. _The two headed into the market center of the town, which was rather pitiful compared to other towns'.

"I'm guessing since the incident messed everyone's lives up, this place took a hit as well…" Ed pondered aloud. Roy nodded solemnly as they passed empty stands and quiet shops. The two walked one the slightly wet road for many a minute with no sign of life to be found. Suddenly, the sounds of freakish giggles and cheers called out from an alleyway to their right. Edward and his commander slowed to let whatever was in there pass, but not fast enough. A group of young chimeras burst from the entryway and found themselves on a collision course with the two alchemists.

Three of the four children gasped and fell back, but one lone child ran on blindly, and ended up ramming itself into Roy, knocking him to the ground with an audible "Oof!" Roy raised himself on one of his wings, and used the other to nudge the child. _Are you alright?_ The child, now clearly female, chirped fearfully and scrambled off of Roy and back into the alley to where her friends were. "Hey, wait! It's okay!" Ed called out worriedly. He looked around the corner and saw the kids huddled in the shadows. "What's the matter, little ones?"

The children gasped in fear. Edward raised his hands in a defensive manner. "It's okay! It's okay, I'm not gonna hurt you, I swear!" He knelt down on to ground and squatted, balancing on the balls of his feet. "Hey, you wouldn't happen to know where any of the grown-ups are, would you? Me and my friend here just wanna talk to them," Ed explained, jabbing a thumb back to Roy who was now standing behind him. The chimeric children screamed and ran down the alley with great speed. "H-hey wait! What'd I say!?" Edward rose to his feet and scratched at the back of his head. "Jeez… You'd think they saw a ghost or something!" He turned to Roy. "Maybe it's your face?" Roy opened his mouth in astonishment and then scowled. He whacked Edward on the head with his wing and the alchemist staggered. "OKAY, okay, sorry! God…" Ed stammered, rubbing his now aching head. "Jerk Bastard…" _Rude prawn._

"I guess we should follow them…?" Edward began heading down the alley but Roy stayed glued to his spot. Ed turned around with a look of inquiry. "What's wrong?" Roy tilted his head with a rather annoyed expression. _Those kids clearly don't want to be followed, Fullmetal, we'd only scare them more._ Edward reached back and grabbed Roy by the wing and began to drag the man behind him. _Wait a minute! Stop! _Roy pulled away, a couple of his downy feathers left floating in the air. "Colonel—c'mon now! Those kids probably went to their parents; who, may I remind you, are the adults we're looking to ask!" Edward continued down the pathway waving his arm for his boss to follow him. Roy grumbled and slowly followed the teen.

Aside from two turns, it was a rather simple alley, leading from the market center to the Main Street. The two exited the path to find themselves in an open courtyard where the only real stone streets existed. Roy looked around the square, noting that this area is where the clock tower was located, being guarded by two large fountains with ornate statues depicting old horoscope characters, with six on each fountain. Enclosing the pavilion were old-town shops such as a bakery, a clock shop, two cafes, a butchery, a toy maker's store, three clothing stores, a floral shop, a very large wine store, and a small park with swings, a slide, and a large patch of mossy grass. "Wow! This place is beautiful!" Edward admired, smiling widely at the sight. Roy grinned softly. It sure was. They heard the pitter patter of paws and hooves however and turned in their direction.

The four kids were hiding behind the right fountain, the tops of their heads just visible above the rim of the decoration. They gasped and ducked behind the concrete mass. Edward and Roy exchanged looks and nodded. They separated and both headed for opposite sides of the fountain, with Roy on the left and Edward on the right. They got within a yard's distance of the children before Edward calmly called out. "Hey, kids, you know it's kinda rude if you hide from someone who just wants to talk, right?"

The children screamed and ran to their left, away from Ed, but they stopped dead in their tracks when they saw Roy in front of them. They hurried back to Ed's direction but slid to a stop when they saw him closer to them. Huddling together, they curled up on the ground, looking ready to cry.

"Hey now, it's okay! Like we said, we just wanna talk, okay?" Ed cooed, getting on his knees. He waited until the children looked up at him, tears brimming their eyes. He pat himself down with exaggerated motions. "See? I have absolutely no weapons on me, and the only thing dangerous is my hand, which is really not that dangerous. And Colonel Mustang over there… Well… He won't hurt you one bit! He's just a big softie." Roy growled at the description, scaring the kids in the process. He sat down, crossing his legs and leaning back on his wings, his black feathers sprawling out wide on the cobblestones. He raised his eyebrows and smiled at the kids, careful not to look like he was baring his teeth.

The children exchanged looks and slowly crept toward Roy. His smile faded to a confused expression as they examined his wings with cowering forms. The man smiled softly and slowly moved it toward them, giving them plenty of time to move out of the way. He held it out for them, keeping his talon relaxed and down. One of the children, a boy who looked to be mixed with a turtle and a fox, bravely poked Roy's wing and recoiled right afterward. Ed chuckled. "It's okay, like I said! He's a friend of mine." The kids looked back at Edward and then back at Roy. All four of them slowly moved toward Roy, a look of doubt in their eyes. The little girl that had collided with him a few moments before hobbled up closest to him, looking to be part cat and rabbit. She leaned forward and analyzed the man, her nose working wildly despite not smelling anything. She hesitantly moved a paw forward to his knee, leaning gently on him as she got closer still.

Roy closed his eyes as he grinned. The girl smiled back and the others followed suit. Before he could even process what was happening, Roy found himself being jumped upon and pulled by the four animalistic children. He flapped his wings wildly as he found himself falling backward onto the street. He fell flat on the ground with a surprised squawk. The four kids jumped on him once he was on the ground and they all howled and bayed at their successful conquering of their new mountain. Edward couldn't help but find himself laughing at the sight. The kids all got on their hind legs and tugged at Roy's plumage for him to follow them.

He scampered up awkwardly behind them, as they were only a third his height even when on two legs. Edward stood up slowly and he laughed harder still. He rested his hands on his hips as he watched the children pull Roy back to the ground on the grassy playground and their cheers of success at their exodus. He shook his head with disbelief. Roy was still complying to the kids' demands and even played along a bit. Edward's smile faded a bit when one of the two girls barked back in his direction but not at him. He turned around and saw that there were adult chimeras looking on horrified from inside the stores. Edward gulped in surprise. He cleared his throat quietly before addressing them.

"Hi there, I'm Edward Elric—a state alchemist—and I was wondering if I could ask you a few questions?"

The chimeras fell back from the windows at the word "alchemist" and a few scowled.

Edward sighed and his shoulders slumped. "Look, if you don't want me to, I understand. This is a scary time for you all and none of you deserve this hell you now find yourselves in. I'm not going to divulge any secrets to the military nor am I going to jeopardize your children's safety or your own. I just…" he trailed off, looking back at Roy, who was now letting the kids play with his tail and his wings. He turned back to the chimeras. "I just want to help my boss return to normal. And all of you as well. I know… I know none of you can communicate with a human tongue now, but if you could please just consider trying to talk to my commander," he motioned back to the group in the park, "and see whether or not you can, then that's all I'm asking of you. You don't have to, I just ask that you consider it."

The boy waited before heading off in the direction of the gay cheers of the children as they played with their new friend. The adults inside the buildings exchanged glances of concern.

"So, Colonel, how're things?" Ed jeered as Roy sat awkwardly with child chimeras around him. He looked at Edward with a look of worry as the children played with him still; one playing a one-person tug of war with his wing, two of them running around him and between his wings, and the little rabbit girl tucking flowers into his tail fur and his hair. Edward chuckled humorously when one of the boys leapt up and ended up hanging off of Roy's neck, bringing the chimera forward. "I take it that everything's goin' good?" Roy shot a glare at the teen and Ed as well as the kids laughed. One of the boys shrieked back to the shop windows and he ran toward them, the other kids following suit. Roy sighed heavily and fell back into the clovers and the grass. _THANK GOD THEY'RE GONE._

Edward laughed warmly and he lay down next to the man. "Well, they sure were cute, don't you think?" Roy shot his head back with a look of disbelief. _How can you possibly think those little devils are cute?_ Edward stuck his tongue out. "Quick being a sour puss! They're just kids." Roy frowned. _Yeah? Next time they wanna play king of the mountain, you're it. Well… I guess in your case you're more of a hill._

The two looked up at the clouds and for the first time in a long time, gazed at the blue sky. Roy breathing in, sensing the aroma of rain and tiny scents of the flowers that were decorating his tail. He closed his eyes and relaxed all of his muscles. The warm sun heated him quickly due to his black coating but he relished in it. He felt a tickle in his throat and he let out a quiet purring chirp. He heard Edward shuffle at the sound, but he didn't care. This was the best he had felt in weeks and he wasn't going to let it go to waste.

Edward smiled as he looked over his commander who was now sprawled out on the clover patch. He took note of his face and saw that he was completely relaxed; a sight Edward had never truly seen before. There was always something extra going on in Mustang's mind, be it work, case files, alchemic formulas, or jabs at Ed's dignity. But now? Complete calm.

Edward shifted back to his previous position and looked at the clouds passing overhead, looking to drop rain later in the day. He heard the children playing in the fountains off in the distance and he closed his eyes as Roy had.

The sun warmed him due to his dark clothing, but he enjoyed the fiery warmth on his skin. It soothed his aching ports and eased his worry. He relaxed and sighed with a smile.

Things were starting to turn around.


	10. Chapter 10

Ch. 10

A soft breeze carried Roy's hair in a slow, calming dance in the warm air. The two alchemists lay in the serenity of the park for a good couple of minutes before Roy opened his eyes. He shot up from his place in the clover patch. Something was off. Edward rolled over and rested himself on his elbows and titled his head. "What's wrong, Colonel?" Roy scanned the area, looking past every building's edge and into every shadow.

He could feel him.

He knew he was there.

Just watching, waiting for Roy's next move.

A growl emanated from the chimera's throat and Edward watched as his feathers bristled with hate. "Hey, what is it? Is there something out there?" He stood up and looked around the pavilion, but saw nothing except the shops and the children playing around the flower shop. He swallowed. "There's nothing out there, Mustang… Nothing."

Roy continued to growl at the unseen presence. "Hey!" Ed nearly shouted, shoving the chimera gently. "There's nothing there. Calm down." Roy glanced at Edward and then returned his attention to the shadows.

_There is definitely something there…_

Edward sighed loudly and looked at the sky. The clouds, while not menacing, were getting thicker and soon would be pouring another shower on the town. Ed groaned. "I wish this place didn't rain so much! It's ridiculous how much it does… Ow…" he trailed off, massaging his shoulder port. He raised his automail up and took note to the squeaking and the jittery movement. "Damn. Winry's gonna kill me once this is all said and done! Automail's all rusted up."

Roy's eyes widened at the statement and he turned around to see the mechanism in question. He stood up and leaned in close to the metal arm. He squinted as he saw the slight orange tint from behind the shield grill and he could smell a distinctive irony-watery aroma wafting from the inner coils and bolts behind the shield. He shook his head to free himself of the smell before nodding at the boy to confirm the statement. Edward huffed a sigh and looked back at the courtyard.

"I don't think anybody's wanting to talk today, Colonel, so we might as well head to the library. Sound like a plan?" he asked the chimera. Roy gave one more scan of the area before nodding. The two began heading back to the collection of books.

A quiet chuckle began to echo from behind the winery, its sound low and warm.

Roy's head whipped around and his eyes tried to locate the origin. "What is it now?" Ed asked, becoming annoyed. Roy didn't answer, his full attention focused on finding the source of his dread. Edward rolled his eyes. "C'mon already, let's go!" he spoke through gritted teeth, grabbing Roy by the tail. He pulled at the chimera until it gave in to following him. Behind the winery, a large toothy grin began growing out of the darkness as the laughter subsided. "My dear soldier, just wait. In due time, you will return to me… And all…" the voice trailed as the creature faded back into the shadows, the last of the sunlight trailing across its emerald eyes.

"And all… Will be forgotten…"

* * *

Edward closed his book with a yawn. He put the item back on the shelf as he pulled out his pocket watch and he groaned, reading the time. "Man… We've been here for nearly three hours, and still nothing on chimeric transmutations!" Roy sighed in response, closing his book as well. _ I knew it wouldn't be easy, but good God, this is unbelievable. _He looked over in the direction of the archive room that Alphonse had been in the previous day and he frowned. _He really did clear everything out._ Edward stretched out his back, a quiet popping coming from his vertebrae. He exhaled and looked over at his commander. He watched as the talons on the wrists of Roy's wings held the books gently and carefully. He pursed his lips as he analyzed the surprising dexterity and control Roy had over them. The chimera placed the books back on the shelf as he would if he were still human, but he had to tilt his wings to get the correct leverage to keep the book upright. His long feathers were controlled and restrained from knocking over any other books, showing a fine-tuned connection in Roy's brain to his new form.

Edward thought over what he had brought up the previous day in the hotel yard. He spoke up. "Hey, maybe we should try getting you airborne?" Roy froze, a book falling from his grip. He looked over at Ed with a blank stare. "What? You clearly have good motor skills with your wings, so why not try using them for the action they were intended?" Roy frowned before bending over to pick up the fallen book. He placed it back on the shelf, watching Ed from the corner of his eye.

_I… I just can't bring myself to fly._

Edward leaned his back against the shelf, remembering to be careful about his action as it has just previously been restored from Roy's attack before. "Come on, Mustang, who knows? Maybe you could be like… Like a badass, feathered dragon. You know, like swooping in and raining fire upon the enemy forces who refuse to…" he trailed off as Roy gave him a not so pleasant facial expression. "Um… Too much?" "Mm-hmm," Roy nodded. _No shit._ Edward huffed. "Well, even so, flight could be an asset to graphing out the town. I mean, don't get me wrong, I love surveying a dangerous village on foot and unprotected just as much as the next poor bastard, but flying would be safer and quicker."

Roy sighed and he swished his tail around as he thought it over. _I don't know… What do you guys think? _

_**FLY**_

_**FLY**_

_**FLY**_

Roy groaned. _Well, fine, then. Guess that settles it_. Roy turned to Edward and nodded nervously. Edward grinned. "Sweet."

* * *

Roy waited in the branches of the oak Edward had picked out to be their take-off perch. _Come on, Fullmetal, you climb like a drunken monkey! _Edward struggled to climb up to Roy's level. The chimera had made his way up the tree with incredible speed, much to Edward's surprise. "Colonel, how about we… Trade attributes for a bit… Say… My heavy as hell… Automail… For your… Ugh… Claws… Whew!" the teen panted through gritted teeth as he neared the roost. Roy gave a faux laugh. _Not a chance, kid. _

Ed's automail creaked loudly as all of his weight was transferred to the metal. Without warning, the bark underneath his fingers snapped free of the tree. Before the boy could even gasp, he found himself swinging in midair from one of Roy's feet, the talons hooked around his prosthetic. Roy sighed with relief. Pulling the boy up higher to where the bark led to the branch, he held tight to the arm to insure the child wouldn't fall. Scrambling up onto the tree limb the boy panted with delayed stress. "Th… Thank you…!" he panted, eyes squeezed tight. Roy turned away with a scoff.

Repositioning himself, the teen sat down next to the man and looked over the town, rubbing his shoulder as he did so. "Wow… What a view! Almost makes falling to one's death worth it, huh?" Ed joked, but he recoiled as he saw Roy give him a look of angry concern. "Oh… Probably shouldn't talk about falling considering… Eh… Heh heh… Yeah I'll shut up now." The boy turned away from the chimera and analyzed the sky, now noticeably darker and more foreboding. Roy exhaled shakily, and felt his heart pound wildly with anxiety.

The birds inside of him fought to gain control of his body, to flap their wings and rise into the sky, but Roy kept having to remind them that the body they all shared was larger and less aerodynamic than their older, respective ones had been. They paid no mind and continued squawking and screeching to be in control and to soar. Roy whimpered. He really didn't want to do this. Edward pat him on the shoulder, causing the chimera to bark in surprise and his feathers to flare up. "It's okay, Colonel, you'll be fine!" Edward grinned cheerfully as Roy expressed a mask of concern.

"Now, you know we can't stay here all day, so let's get this show on the road, shall we?" Ed asked, trying to edge the man on. Roy swallowed loudly, as his feet clung tightly to the tree bark. He didn't want to let go. "…Ergh… Erghgroooh…" _I can't! I can't do it!_ Edward turned to the man and gently patted his back. "It's okay! Look, just try and glide—that means no flapping, no soaring high—just staying still until you're to the ground." Roy gulped, his whimper growing more human-like than dog.

Edward sat staring at the scared beast until an idea hit him.

"Do you know, Colonel, how a bird learns to fly?"

Roy closed his eyes and grumbled. _Edward, not now, I'm trying to—_but he was cut off by the sensation of being thrust forward.

"Momma kicks the babies out!"

Roy couldn't help a shrill shriek as he found himself flailing around as he began falling to the ground.

_**OH MY GOD OH MY GOD OH MY GOD OH MY GOD**_

"Open your wings, ya dumbass!" Ed shouted loudly, now panicking at the sight of his commander falling. Roy hurried to position himself correctly in the air. Opening his wings, Roy felt himself thrust back upward as the feathers splayed apart like a parachute. He flapped them awkwardly as he tried to glide forward to the ground, resulting in a rather unflattering landing on his face.

"Ouch… Not really what I meant by gliding, Colonel!" Ed called out with hands cupped around his mouth. "The whole point of gliding is _not_ flapping wings!" Roy growled angrily and he crawled over to and up the tree with great speed. He was quickly face to face with the teen, who was caught off guard by just how fast Roy had moved. "Uh… I mean… Good job! That was uh… That was good!" Ed stammered, set off by the looming chimera.

Roy smirked and knocked Edward from his perch. Edward started to scream, but was caught around the ankle by Roy's talon foot. "D-damn it, Mustang, you almost killed me! I don't have wings to save me like you do!" Roy rolled his eyes and crawled higher up the tree as to set Edward back on the branch. Edward hugged the limb like it were lifeboat. Roy hopped down and landed next to the boy.

"You bastard…"

Roy looked down at the ground and he felt a bead of sweat form on his neck. Edward was right; from the height they were at, a fall would definitely kill a man, and would without a doubt kill a child. He looked over at his tiny subordinate and flashed a sheepish smile before coughing awkwardly into his wrist. Edward carefully rose back to a sitting position with a death-like glare set on the chimera. Roy could feel the daggers piercing his chest and he coughed harder, as it had turned into an actual cough.

He flapped his wings slowly, testing them out as actual wings as opposed to how he had been using them. He looked back to the ground and gulped. _Well… I almost killed the kid… Might as well try to please him. _Roy spread out his wings, closed his eyes, and he jumped.

He was still rough at first, but he held his breath, and let his wings stay out. He opened his eyes when he heard a faint cheer behind him, and he saw that he was gliding over rooftops and was far from where he had started. He flapped his wings to stop and he landed wobbly on a chimney top. He turned around and saw that he was almost a block away from the tree Ed was in, but his heightened vision could still see the boy in detail. The kid had his arms above his head and his hands were in two thumbs-up as he nodded. Roy laughed, stunned. He looked down at his wings and he felt the blood flowing through them.

He understood now why the birds wanted to fly—it was an adrenaline rush in all the best ways. He hunched over and tried to lift himself up by flapping his wings. It was rocky at first, but soon he was a good meter or so above the chimney. He tried maneuvering his limbs as to go in a direction other than up, and soon he got the scooping motion that provided just the right means for motion. He was panting from the unfamiliar exercise, but it was a welcome burn to the stiffness that his wings usually felt when they were folded against his sides.

The chimera began to fly toward the old oak that Edward was now standing in. When he got to the final house top, he locked his wings and glided to the trunk. He gripped it like it were a blanket, and he crawled up to the roosting branch.

"WAY TO GO, MUSTANG! AHAHAHA! WOOHOOOOO!" Edward cheered gleefully, jumping once before wobbling to regain his balance. "That was awesome!" Roy sat down, gasping for breath, but he was smiling a mile wide. He had flown. Not in an air balloon, not on a glider, but actually flying. He was still rusty, of course, but by God he was flying!

He let his shaky wings fall past the branch and he lay on his stomach. Edward laughed at the sight of his commander sprawled out like a squirrel on the tree branch. He sat back down and he ruffled the feathery hair on the back of Roy's neck. "Not bad, Colonel Bastard. Not bad at all…"

* * *

Edward's feet sloshed in the mud as he and Roy walked back to the hotel. Despite the rain coming down like a monsoon, Edward remained mostly dry thanks to Roy shielding him with his wing. The chimera was absolutely soaked as a result, but he insisted that Edward stay drier than he. While the teen couldn't understand why, Roy was intent on keeping him in as prime a condition as he could.

"Seriously, Mustang, you're soaked to the bone! Just let the rain fall on me so we can run back—which, may I remind you—we can't do with your wing out like a damned umbrella!"

Roy scoffed as he shook his head. _No, Fullmetal, your automail is screwed up enough as it is. You don't want your little girlfriend to beat you up anymore over it than she has to._ Edward sighed and continued walking under the protective shadow of Roy's wing. It was a few more blocks until they were back at the hotel and it took them a good ten minutes. They turned their final corner only to find Hawkeye standing outside the hotel with her arms crossed. She was soaking wet and she looked pissed.

"Where have you boys been!?" she asked harshly, causing Roy's head to droop in solemnity. Edward chuckled nervously. "Uh, well we originally were out trying to talk with some of the townspeople (with mixed results) but then we headed to library only to have little to no leads…" he trailed off as he and the chimera entered the lobby, bringing rivers with them. Roy walked off a little farther than Edward to shake himself off properly without whacking the boy. "Then we decided since the weather was still fair for Mustang to try his hand at flying." Riza couldn't hide the look of shock on her face. "What?" She blinked away the expression. "For the colonel to do what?" she inquired, hoping for a clarification.

Edward took down his braid and began squeezing the water out of it. "Try flying. I mean, since he has wings and all…" The sniper looked over at her boss and watched him preen his feathers clean of rain water. He felt her gaze and peered up under his bangs, some primary coverts still in his mouth. He smiled awkwardly, trying to let go of his feathers, but one stayed stuck in his teeth, resulting in the consequent removal of said feather from his wing. Edward laughed warmly at this display, but the lieutenant was still not impressed.

Roy tried to wrap his talons around the feather, but he couldn't. Groaning with embarrassment, he walked over to Edward to have him pull it out for him. Ed smirked as he tugged the feather out of Roy's teeth, the chimera pulling back and licking the boney structures to insure their cleanliness. Riza sighed sadly and looked off at nothing in particular. Edward noticed this and his smile turned to a frown. "Uh… He's still a bit rocky on take-off and landing, but once he's in the air he's pretty good! Um… He practiced it until it started raining and then we started to head back. Unfortunately the roads got all muddy and then Colonel Bird-Brain decided to delay us a good half hour by insisting on shielding me from the rain! Like, I told him not to, but he insisted!"

Roy rolled his eyes, miming the teen's mouth flaps. Hawkeye turned back to the colonel and she felt his forehead, causing his feathers to bristle a bit. _Um… Not that I mind your contact, but what the hell are you doing?_ Riza felt Roy's cheek next, then his neck under his ears. She sighed. "Well, you don't have a fever, but if you keep getting stuck in the rain, you will. You are so useless in the rain, you know."

Roy's face blushed with anger as Edward howled with laughter.

"OH MY GOD THAT'S RIGHT! I completely forgot about your incompetence! Man, the irony of being in the rainiest town in Amestris! AHAHAHAHAHA!" Edward continued laughing much to his commander's contempt. Roy pouted as he shook the last remaining water off onto the boy. "H-hey! Watch it!" Edward scowled in Roy's face but the chimera only grinned out of spite. Riza massaged her temple as she groaned. "Edward, you should go wash yourself clear of that mud and rain. I need to talk to the colonel in private anyway." Roy and Edward blinked. They exchanged worried glances before the teen nodded and headed upstairs.

Riza motioned for the chimera to follow her and so he did. He followed her down the hallway and into a room he hadn't been in yet. She flicked on the light and closed the door behind Roy. The man could only stare wide-eyed at the sight before him. Near the back of the room lay a chimera—dead from what seemed to be gunshot wounds. Roy swallowed nervously, trying to take a step back, but his lieutenant stopped him mid-movement. She walked over next to the fallen beast and motioned for Roy to follow suit.

She squatted down and Roy did as well, though he was being careful as to avoid getting his feathers bloodied. "This is the one that attacked our men this morning." Roy looked up at her at the statement. He stared, but she didn't divulge any more than that. He sighed and returned his gaze to the corpse.

It was large, larger than Roy in actual body mass rather than fur. It had wings, but they were of scale and skin, implying it was part bat. Its muzzle was long like a horse's but had sharp, protruding fangs like those of a snake. Riza took her gun and used it as a probe to push the eyelids back. "We know chimeras are unique in that their eyes almost always follow a similar style no matter the animals used, but…" she ended. Roy tried to hold back a howl of fear as he stared straight into the bright green, almost glowing eyes.

He fell backward, crawling away from the satanic creature.

"S-sir?! What's wrong?" Riza asked worriedly.

Roy's breathing quickened.

His muscles trembled with adrenaline.

The animals inside of him all screamed, making him let loose a hauntingly dissonant wail.

He jumped to the nearest wall, scraping and gripping at the brick like it were a ladder and he pushed himself back into the highest, farthest corner away from the dead body. Hawkeye hurried to her feet and she spread out her arms to try to calm her superior down. "Colonel Mustang! It's alright, I promise you! It's dead! It can't hurt you!" she pleaded.

Roy pushed himself farther into the corner, his claws so tightly clinging to the wall that the brick was showing signs of chipping. "Colonel, please! Sir, it's okay!" Riza begged. Roy's face was still contorted into the face of true horror and his monstrous wail was replaced with human-like moaning. His mouth drooled saliva and his ears rang with the tolls of the town clock tower down town as his vision tunneled to the chimera only.

His moan turned to a snarl.

His snarl to a growl.

His growl to a hiss.

His hiss to a roar.

His roar to an ear-splitting shriek.

Riza plastered her hands to her ears and her eyes watered. She swayed on her feet as her brain reverberated inside her skull. She watched helplessly as Roy threw himself at the door, splitting it in two. The chimera cried out as it fought to get off the splintered wood and away from his cell. "S-sir! Wait!" the woman called out.

Roy scrambled to his feet and ran for the nearest exit. He didn't hear anyone scream his name, or any of the soldiers shouting at him to stop, or Edward fumbling back into the clothes as he ran down the stairs. He heard only his fear and his instincts.

_Oh my God he's found me._

_He's found me._

_Dear God, no._

_No._

_NO._

_**NO!**_

_**NO!**_

_**NOOOOOOO—**__"_WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAUUGH!" Roy screamed as he rammed into the hotel doors. He fell back to the floor with a painful crack. His vision was still tunneled, focused only on what was right in front of him, and he saw only large forms of eerie darkness looming nearer to him. He hissed evilly as he scuttled away past the couch and up into the chimney, sending waves of dust and ash down under him.

"C-colonel! Hey, you bastard, wait a second!" Ed called out after the chimera. He ran up to the chimney and looked into it, gasping at the sight.

Roy was wedging himself up into the grill and he was practically foaming at the mouth. When the chimera saw Edward it roared, sending more ash down to rain on Ed. The boy coughed as his lungs filled with the soot. "M-mustang! Come on now, look at me! Really—look at me—see who I am!" he pleaded, the chimera still growling with saliva dripping down onto the boy's head.

Roy's expression froze and then softened. His vision widened and he saw Edward looking up at him from the chimney base, covered in ash and soot. _Oh my God… Oh my God!_

"Roo… Rooguuarghoor!?" Roy stammered. His grip on the brick loosened and he began to fall down to the bottom of the tube. He clawed at the walls of his tunnel but he couldn't grasp the bricks as he had before and he would soon be crashing down into the iron rods in the cement base. The sound of crackling echoed through the chimney and Roy felt himself fall against the ground much softer and much… Sooner than he had expected. Looking down he found he was in a large, transmuted hand, made soft by the ash it was formed from. He curled in on himself as Edward lowered the creation down till Roy was visibly out of the chimney.

"COLONEL, WHAT THE HELL WAS ALL THAT FOR!?" Ed practically screamed. Roy looked over the boy frantically, his heart lurching at the sight of dust and spittle all over the boy. Roy couldn't stop the sorrowful moan that came from inside of him. He bent over himself, his wings wrapping around his head. Edward knitted his brows as he moved to comfort the chimera.

Roy recoiled at the touch with a deep hiss but his hissing cracked apart when he saw it was Ed's automail. He shook his head slowly as he felt another wail overpowering him. He flailed out of the fabricated hand and ran across the lobby, hopping over soldiers to the staircase. He gripped the side rail and crawled up until he got to his room and he lunged forward into it. A deafening slam echoed throughout the parlor as Roy shut himself away.

He gasped for breath and he could hear Edward running up the stairs. He hurried over to the wardrobe and pushed it in front of the door. Ed couldn't so much as get his hand on the knob before a terrifying crash was heard and the door was pushed deep into its hinges. Edward held his breath and rested his ear against the door.

"Colonel?! Colonel, please! Just let us help you!"

"_**NUAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGH**_**!"**

Edward pulled away from the door as the chimera screamed from the other side. He could hear items being thrown about and slashing noises against wood. He furrowed his eyebrows and clapped his hands together. Slapping them onto the door, alchemic energy poured from his palms, enveloping the wood with a bright blue-white glow. Particles moved apart at his will and soon the door was nothing but an entanglement of sticks around the door frames.

Hopping over the fallen cabinet, Ed stood before the assault of the hotel room. The beds were both turned on their sides and were in a single corner, forming a sort of fortress. The bedside dressers were piled on top of the beds and pieces of the floorboards completed the castle-like nest. Edward inched forward, careful not to fall through the now shambled floor. He tried to look through a crack in the shell and saw the chimera huddled inside.

"… Colonel…?"

The chimera jumped and wailed in fear. Edward could see Roy hugging himself tightly, his tail even pulled over the back of neck. He then noticed the ritual-like muttering under the beast's breath. While unintelligible, it was clear it was a coping mechanism, as Roy was rocking back and forth with wide eyes and faster-than-lightning mouth flaps. Edward got closer to the fortress and looked inside closer.

Roy's feet had clawed away what shine was on the floor and had even ripped a few fissures into their lines. Feathers decorated the chamber glistening with sweat and ash. Roy had his knees up to his shoulders and his wings almost completely around his body. His back was arched over like a crossbow and it shuddered and lurched with every breath.

"_wathuagh neih. wathuagh neih. wathuagh neih. wathuagh neih. wathuagh neih."_

The chant chilled Edward to the bone, and to his horror, he could make out what was actually being said.

"Oh my God, Colonel…!"

Roy continued rocking, his feathers bristled out and trembling. Edward felt his knees shake as the chimera chanted on, each breath replenishing the oxygen needed for the rite. He squeezed his eyes shut as he heard the terrifying message through the garbled panic.

"_watching me. watching me. watching me. watching me. watching me."_


	11. Chapter 11

Ch. 11

Edward watched the chimera's ritual for a good few beats until he couldn't watch any more of it. "Colonel, it's me. Come on, it's okay. It's okay—you're safe. No one is going to hurt you." Roy did not falter in his chant, rather he quickened. Edward growled out of frustration and he shoved his prosthetic arm into the gap in Roy's shield, hoping to shake some sense into the creature. He froze as he could hear creaking metal and wood and he noticed that the top of the fort was crudely put together, any sudden movement could send the furniture down in a cascade on top of Roy. Ed gulped, slowly inching his arm into the hidey-hole.

"Colonel, please, it's okay. It's okay..." Edward cooed softly, hoping to calm the chimera down enough for him to make contact. A snarl and a jolt stopped him. He felt the weight of something tugging on his arm and his heart grew heavy as a dumbbell as the reality of the situation settled in. He hung his head as a startled whimper came from behind the makeshift wall. The weight disappeared and he pulled his arm out. The sleeve was torn around his wrist and his automail glistened with saliva. His hands began to tremble as chemical reactions began pouring through his body at the sight. He looked back through the opening solemnly and saw Roy huddled in the back, covering his mouth in horror and his face contorted into a mask that of pure sorrow.

"Mustang, if you need some time alone, I understand. But hiding away when people are trying to help you is not going to fix the problem," Ed stated, his voice clear but unsettlingly deep. "And it especially isn't going to work if you carelessly atTACK THOSE WHO ARE JUST TRYING TO HELP YOU!" The soldiers who had gathered outside all fell back at the booming shout from their commander. They exchanged worried looks before returning their attention to the situation.

"YOU THINK I ENJOY SEEING YOU THIS _PATHETIC_? DO YOU THINK I GET SOME SORT OF KICK OUT OF SEEING YOUR TRAUMA!? WELL, SORRY, BUT I DON'T! You are hurting EVERYONE. _EVERYONE._ By not letting us help you!"

Roy slinked back away from the crack and tried to hide himself in the shadows.

"THERE YOU GO AGAIN! HIDING! You always told me hiding doesn't solve anything, but right now you're nothing but a_ hypocrite_! You insist on helping others, but the moment YOU need help, you shut everyone out!"

_Stop._

"We know there's something you're hiding, and you know it too!"

_Stop it._

"You act like we_ shouldn't_ know—that we'd be worse off if we did—but NOT KNOWING IS FAR WORSE THAN KNOWING!"

_STOP IT, PLEASE!_

"Being a chimera doesn't give you trauma—not like this! SO WHAT COULD POSSIBLY MAKE YOU GO THIS BAT SHIT CRAZY!?"

_**"WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAUUUUUUUUUUUH!" **_Roy howled from inside his cave, his voice sounding human in all regards, but the sheer emotion in it carried more weight than his hauntingly chimeric voice could ever hope to. Edward fell silent as the moaning continued again and again. He could hear a loud thumping noise repeat throughout each scream but it didn't process until the cries started to grow weaker and more choked. Gasping, he brought his hands together and he threw them onto the walls, breaking apart what structures they had and he transmuted the fortress into nothing more than a split shell.

"C-COLONEL! STOP IT—NO—STOP IT!" Ed screamed as he rushed to the chimera, of whom was beating its head against the wall, blood almost ready to splatter the wallpaper. "STOP IT!" Roy's screams morphed into moans of sorrowful pain as he weakly beat his head on the wall. By the time Edward had his hands on Roy's shoulders the chimera was slinking down the wall slowly, sobbing tearlessly.

_Stop it stop it stop it stop it stop it stop it stop it stop it stop it stop it stop it stop it stop it stop it stop it._

Roy could see Edward trying to talk to him, and he felt his body shake slowly, but couldn't hear anything but h—_stop it stop it stop it stop it stop it_

_"STOP IT! OH GOD, PLEASE, STOOOOOP!" Roy heard a man scream. He looked up slowly and watched helplessly as the screaming man lay on an operating table, his chest open and his limbs restrained tightly. The man wasn't human, not like his tormentor, no. He had a tail like that of an ox and his head was elongated to the point that he looked like a rat. His back was arched in pain as he fought to be free of his deathly table._

_ Weakly gripping the bars of his cage, Roy tried to call out to the man, to try and give some comfort, but nothing came out except pain. Roy shut his eyes at the stinging, remembering that he had screamed his voice away earlier that day. He looked back at the poor chimera and felt his insides twist as another round of screams shook the wine cellar they were in. His tormentor was wearing a cooking apron to keep his slightly wrinkled, but well-kept shirt from becoming stained with blood. _

"_I'm so very sorry, but I simply _must_ find out how it is you are still able to speak perfectly and to such a degree that you are. You see, my dear pet, you're not quite right. I'm just trying to find a way to fix you!" the devil of a man spoke casually, even yawning into his elbow while his prisoner screamed. Roy felt himself wanting to growl, but as he could make no sound vocally, he turned to hissing. This caused the man to turn and look at Roy. _

_His eyes, green as the first sprouts of Spring, dug into Roy's heart and the chimera gasped before clawing itself to the back of its cage, cowering from the damnable stare. The man smirked and placed his scissors down. He trailed his fingers across his weapons table before stopping at an unseen instrument. He grabbed it and held it up to the side of his neck as he let his subject see it before diving into the blood sea again. Roy covered his ears at the next scream, and held his head tighter as the screaming turned unholy with each hammer blow to the poor soul's rib cage._

"_PLEASE NO! I HAVE A DAUGHTER! SHE'S ALL I HAVE LEE__**EAAAAAAAAAAAAGH!"**_

_The screaming softened and eased into gasped breaths. Roy looked up and saw to his horror that the other chimera's rib cage was nothing more than bone fragmentations all scattered on the floor and its heart beat fast behind its clearly visible lungs. The gem-eyed man took a probe and proceeded to stuff it up along the trachea, groping for something behind the flesh and blood. He stopped and smiled with sincere gaiety. He pulled the probe out and he forced his hands through the base of the chimera's neck and snaked it through the tight skin, sending rivers of blood down into the flooding chest cavity. _

_The chimera's head was forced back onto the table as the man's hand suffocated him and filled his throat. He struggled to breathe until Roy could plainly see the windpipe had been cut off by the man. The sound of tearing flesh provoked a final, earsplitting scream from the man, but the scream was ripped out of him and he was left silent. The man pulled his hand out and turned to look into his palm, ignoring the writhing beast next to him. He calmly walked over to his desk and lamp as the drowning chimera sought to suck life-giving air into his lungs, but the deed had been done. _

_The beast fought against his bindings with more ferocity than Roy thought was physically possible given its condition. When the table jolted up and down, Roy thought, surely, that the man would turn around and pay notice. But even when the table flipped to its side, flooding the room with blood and bone and a stone cracking toll, the man simply rinsed off the fleshy form in his hand and proceeded to analyze it under the lamp light._

_Roy watched in agony as his fellow chimera fought to get air into his lungs, but Roy knew that the trachea was crushed and that no amount of medical attention could save the poor beast's life. He watched the color in the creature's face turn from white to blue to purple as oxygen failed to pass through its body and carbon dioxide flooded it. He shook his head, slowly mouthing an "I'm so sorry" as the chimera let torrential tears pour from its eyes. Its eyes rolled to the back of its head as its tongue lolled out of its mouth and blood oozed from its nose and throat. _

"_Ah, I see, the lungs changed to those of a bull but your vocal chords in your larynx remained untouched, if not a little scratched. I'll have to remember that next time…" the satanic man thought aloud as he set the flesh down on his table. He turned to his dying experiment. "Oh, come now, you act as though me not finding out this problem is better than knowing—that you'd be worse off if I did—but not knowing is far worse than knowing, I can assure you. You see…" he began, grabbing his cane. _

"_You humans all think alike. You all think that ignorance is truly bliss, or that the innocent are so virtuous. What is it to be human, then?" He unsheathed his hidden blade from his cane and he held it leisurely above the chimera's chest. "To do nothing? To learn nothing? Has evolution taught us nothing? It is those that delve into dangerous waters and teach others that truly are the best fit to live." He slowly forced the sword tip into the beast's heart, a silent scream shaking its frame. "If you simply beg for one to stop exploring, then man will fall off the edge of the world." The sward stabbed through the muscle and met with the stone floor with a quiet scraping sound. _

_The chimera trembled as its heart slowed to a stop. _

_It fell limp._

_Silence._

"_A pathetic display to be sure."_

_Roy gritted his teeth together and hissed darkly at the man. The tormentor pulled his weapon out of the monster's heart and wiped it clean with his apron. "Roy, Roy, Roy…" he said with a tut. He returned his sword to its cover and leaned it against the fallen operating table. "If you don't want for me to do the same to you, then you must quit your hideous vocalizations. They are quite displeasing to put it kindly." Roy contorted his face into a snarl but did not release a sound. The man smiled with a nod. "Very good."_

_He walked over to the coat rack and hung his apron on one of the hooks. "Now then, if you excuse me, I have some other dear people to attend to." He opened the cellar door and then vanished. Roy slowly lay his head down on the floor of his cage and he stared blankly at the dead chimera in front of him. His eyes stung with hate as he could hear screams—ungodly screams—coming from elsewhere in the man's home._

"_**STOP IT! STOPITSTOPITSTOPITSTOPITSTOPITSTOPITSTOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAGH!"**_

_Roy let the cool metal sting his face with its cruelty as the screams echoed through the great labyrinth of a prison he was in. He sighed heavily and closed his eyes. Soon, very soon, it would be his turn. He wouldn't be held down in the cellar if it weren't to be. The man never held his chimeras in cages unless he was going to investigate them. _

_If they couldn't talk or fly? Return them to the town. If they could fly? Train them. If they could talk? Kill them. Painfully. Gruesomely. _

_Roy hugged himself with his wings, the new muscles aching viciously. He winced as he tried to shield himself from the cold of the chamber, but he still felt goose bumps tickle at his skin and his feathers rose to try and trap his heat. He heaved a shaky sigh as the screaming turned to uproarious shrieks. He buried his face in his feathers and brought his tail around himself in a futile attempt to seek human comfort. He covered his head with his left wing, drowning out the shrill voices to a meager degree. He sighed and found to his horror that he was exhausted. _

_His head pounding and his muscles aching, he found himself drifting off, his face pressed against the cold metal of his cage…_

_Cold metal…_

Edward stared helplessly as Roy lost consciousness against his automail arm, his hair sinking into the grill and his cheek pushed against it gently. The boy felt his lip quiver as he called out to his soldiers.

"DAMN IT—SOMEONE HELP!"

Some of the officers ran in and proceeded to look over Roy, checking for injuries and analyzing his breathing and heartbeat. They all sighed a breath of relief as everything seemed fine, save for a quickened heart rate. "I think he just needs rest, sir. He seems fine, physically, and the welt on his head will go down with ice and time." Edward frowned. "Yeah… Fine physically. But what the hell is going on with him mentally!?"

The medics looked to the chimera and shook their heads. "Sir," one spoke up. "We're medical doctors, not therapists. I would suggest a psychiatrist, but I doubt as a chimera that that would be an option." Edward gritted his teeth and he held the beast tighter. He watched the colonel's back rise and fall, at first trembling but easing into relaxed breathing.

"_Wathuagh…neih…"_

Edward bared his teeth as he struggled to keep his rage under control. "Brother! Is… Is Mustang okay?" Alphonse asked worriedly, carefully making his way into the now destroyed room. Edward didn't look up at his sibling. "I don't know. I really don't know." Alphonse knelt down and brushed back some of the feathers from Roy's face and he looked up at Edward, his metaphorical heart crumbling to pieces.

Edward looked so pained. Al looked down and noticed Ed was cradling the chimera in his hands, his fingers trembling with emotion. The armor moved his gauntlet to Ed's shoulder, giving a very tiny shake. "I can carry him to a bed if you want me to." Edward nodded, still not taking his gaze off of the colonel.

Alphonse carefully scooped the chimera off of the ground and gently re-positioned him in his arms before starting out the door. Edward stood up quickly and walked behind him. The soldiers at the door all moved out of the way, some returning to their duties. Edward ignored each of them as the two brothers carried their commanding figure off to another room. After setting the chimera down on his new bed and repairing the damaged room, Edward and Alphonse closed the door and they stood in silence. Hawkeye had told them what had triggered the panic while they were fixing the floor and she insisted that she not see the colonel as to avoid another episode.

"Green eyes… Green eyes… I don't understand, what's so strange about green eyes?" Edward thought aloud. Alphonse turned to his older sibling. "I don't know, Brother, but it's certainly something to the colonel. I mean, for him to react to them like he did…" Edward nodded, wiping his hand down his face. "Maybe he had a rough time with another chimera? Maybe that one?" Edward shook his head. "No, the lieutenant said that he only reacted after she showed its eyes and that Mustang's fear was directed toward them and not the chimera specifically."

He walked over to the sleeping chimera and sat down next to it. He ran his hand along its wing, his face drawn to a frown. "I don't get it… I want to, but I don't… Oh, you poor bastard, what the hell happened to you?" Ed groaned, hiding his face from his little brother. Alphonse walked over and put his hand on his brother's back. "It'll be okay. We'll figure this out, Brother."

"I think… I think I'll sleep in here tonight, Al," Edward muttered, motioning to the bed across the room. The armored boy nodded his head and turned to leave. "I'll grab your trunk for you." "Thanks, Al."

* * *

As the crickets outside sang their song to the rolls of thunder and the pale flashes of lightning of the night, the teen watched the chimera sleep. His amber eyes glowed with an unearthly gold given by the lantern to his left. The beast across the room was sleeping quietly, its head hidden under its left wing and tail brought up around its frame. The boy sighed and rested his head against the headboard of the old wooden bed. He should've gone to bed hours before but his mind would not tire nor relinquish its hold on consciousness. Not only had Roy given everyone at base a heart attack with his episode, but the team that had been sent to investigate the sewer line the previous day had not returned as scheduled.

The boy looked over at his pocket watch on the nightstand and leaned over to flip it open. The face read 2:41. He groaned quietly and snapped it closed. It had then been over 32 hours since his soldiers' departure. He looked back over at Roy and felt even more dread sink into his soul.

_If Mustang was all wrapped in a noose AND as a chimera… What kind of hell are my men facing right now?_

Edward's eyes widened.

His men.

_His_ men.

"…DAMN IT!" he hissed, gasping when he realized how loud he was. He looked over at Roy and sighed with relief when he didn't seem to have awoken. He pulled his knees to his chest and rested his forehead against them. "…Damn. Now he's got me on edge too…" he muttered under his breath.

"Mrooh?"

Edward's head jerked up and he failed to stifle his gasp. Roy stared at the boy, his expression pulled to a depressingly somber frown. Edward furrowed his brows as he tried to coax the chimera back into sleep. "Colonel, you should go back to sleep, it's the middle of the night! You just rest now, okay?" Roy's eyelids drooped with his lack of amusement and his brow rose in retort. Edward blinked slowly and sighed. "Really, Mustang, please to go back to sleep…"

Roy looked down at his bed and then back up at Edward. He could remember the episode in every detail and he remembered how broken Edward had looked when he started to fade. He grumbled and scoot himself off the bed. "C-colonel, no! Go back to bed!" Edward started up, starting to pull the covers off of him. Roy jumped onto the bed, causing Edward to stare dumbfounded at the chimera as it crawled up next to him. Roy flopped down and huffed a very loud sigh. He looked at the boy next to him and he grinned innocently. He curled back in on himself and tucked his head under his wing, his tail wrapping around Ed's ankles.

The teen flinched and stayed scrunched as the chimera settled into a comfortable position and he relaxed just as Roy did. He swallowed quietly and moved his hand down to the creature's shoulder, the sound of feathers bristling across automail murmuring quietly underneath the pitter patter of rain. Roy looked out of the corner of his eye and turned his head to rest it on Edward's lap.

The boy frowned and he turned to the window. Their reflection shone against the dark streaks of rain and disappeared with the flashing of lightning. A roll of thunder reverberated throughout the room, rattling the metal of the torch. Roy flinched and shoved his face into Ed's shirt, his feathers quivering. Edward turned back to the chimera. "What, are you afraid of thunder? I mean, if you are then no big deal, but it's a little late in the game considering how much it rains here!" Roy shook his head, his face still immersed in the fabric.

He brought his body closer to the boy and tried to curl in on himself as much as he could. Ed turned his head back to the window and then back to the chimera. He straightened up and he crossed his arms. "You still think something is after you, huh?" Roy stopped shivering. He looked up at the boy with a pure, distressed expression. He stared down at his wing and nodded, an air of humility pouring from him. Edward groaned and rested his head back on the bedframe.

"Look, whether there is or not, nothing is going to hurt you here. Really, the worst threat to you right now is yourself." Roy shook his head. Edward stared at the ceiling begrudgingly as he thought out many remarks to say to the chimera in response to his blatant worry. He glanced down only to find the creature snoozing soundly, chin resting on Ed's middle.

The boy sighed and rolled his eyes. He rested his hand on Roy's neck and stared at the window. The few street lights in the town shone dimly in the rain and Edward blinked to try and clear his vision.

They had looked like eyes… Piercing the dark…

He looked back and saw that they were just far-off flames, flickering slightly. He inhaled tiredly as he found himself slowly lulled into sleep. Turning to his left he leaned over and blew out the flame in the lantern, the smoke swirling and dancing as it spiraled upwards to the ceiling. Ed slid down from his seated position and waited patiently for Roy to readjust in his own sleep.

He closed his eyes.

And he let his dreams take over…

* * *

Christain's lungs burned like hellfire as he ran through the sewer. He could scarcely think, he could scarcely see, he only knew he had to run.

Run.

Run.

Run.

He ran headlong into a wall and cried out painfully as he felt his body slam into the wet cement. He staggered back to his feet and his knees shook terribly as he tried to catch his breath. He glanced behind himself and saw the very small but very distinct silhouette of a man. He gulped a large breath of air before rushing off again.

He couldn't let himself be taken back to that hell.

He couldn't.

He had to run.

Run.

Run.

Run!

He could no longer feel any pain, no, only fear. He ran until he saw a tiny glimmer of light, shining gold in the dreary gray-green tube. He wheezed for air as he neared the drain. He had to call for help.

The other soldiers would help him.

They had to.

He took a final intake of air, its cold needles stabbing his lungs.

He screamed.

He thrust his hands upwards to try and remove the grate and the ringing that followed sent chills down his spine. He screamed again, hoping that the men would help him soon and that the man would not catch him. He whipped his head around, the blood pounding in his ears and his eyes blurring. He could hear footsteps splashing through mud and puddles as he stared down the man behind him. He could see the scowl on his face as he vanished, his green eyes no longer haunting him.

He turned back to the grate and felt himself overwhelmed by relief. He clambered up out of the drain and hauled himself out onto the mud. He flopped down and panted as he, for the first time in 36 hours, was safe.

The soldiers stared in horror at their uniformed comrade.

"Oh my god…"

* * *

"EDWARD GET UP NOW!" Riza shouted as she blasted through the door.

Edward and Roy jumped and flailed in surprise, Roy alert on all fours with feathers bristled, and Edward falling off of the bed with a thud. "Jeez, Lieutenant, what is it!?" Edward stammered through nervous breaths. Roy looked into the woman's eyes and his tail drooped.

_Oh no…_

"Edward, get dressed and be done in thirty seconds. We have an emergency situation."

She closed the door and the two alchemists were left staring at empty space. Edward crawled out of the blanket that had so graciously cocooned him and he hurried to his shirt and pants. Roy slid off of the bed and walked over to the door with a tiny whimper. After hobbling into his trousers, Edward rushed toward the door, tying his hair back into a messy ponytail. He opened the door while giving Roy and rough pat on the head to assure him.

Riza took no time in heading down the stairs, leaving the two behind her. The three descended and Edward and Roy both perked their ears upon hearing a strange sound. "Is that… Crying?" Edward pondered aloud. Riza nodded and turned toward the direction of the wailing. Roy swallowed heavily.

He could smell him.

His stench masked the once familiar hotel.

Roy smelled _him._

"Colonel, come on," Ed barked at the chimera who was frozen in place. Roy shivered and let out a quiet whimper, the worry clear. Edward swallowed and turned back to Lieutenant Hawkeye, knitted his brows. "So, what seems to be the problem?" he asked nervously. Riza did not respond, only speeding up to get to the door she was leading them to. She turned the knob and ushered the men into the room, their reluctance understandable as the crying was very loud in the tiny chamber.

Edward stared on in shock at the sight before him. Laying on a bare bed was a humanoid creature, long spines on its back pierced through the clothing it wore, and its sickeningly olive skin was shimmering with blood and sweat. It clung to the mattress cover with such force that even with its dark green skin its knuckled were white. It breathed heavily and let out a tiny cry with each exhale, the shakiness of its gasps a clear indicator of an injured lung.

"W… What the hell…?" Ed stammered, his throat becoming dry. Roy slowly hid himself behind the boy, his plumage sunk down in fear. This thing smelled like that place. That horrible evil place. Roy felt a growl surface from his throat and he startled Edward with the noise. The teen watched cautiously as the chimera snarled at the newcomer before returning his gaze to the reptilian monstrosity. He moved closer to the beast, taking note of the blue uniform it was so uncomfortably buttoned into.

The beast opened its eyes, their surfaces a milky white with only the slightest grey tint to the pupils. It tried to lift its hand but fell short of its head by a few inches.

"Full…Metal…S…Sir…" it growled, its voice almost alien. Edward gasped at the salute. He looked down at the shoulder band and saw that it had one gold strand with a single star. He recognized the rank and his knees threatened to buckle beneath him.

"C… Christain…!"


End file.
